Nevaeh
by DesireeStorms
Summary: Beggars can't be choosers, especially during the zombie apocalypse. A girl forms an unlikely alliance with a hunter, and the two run into the survivors during a horde attack. Nick is hardly ready to accept a hunter into the group, but Ellis thinks it could work to their benefit. He wants her to come to New Orleans with them, but she doesn't trust the military. FULL SUMMARY INSIDE
1. Bear Trap

**REWRITE**

 **FULL SUMMARY:** **Beggars can't be choosers, especially during the zombie apocalypse. Nevaeh has been on her own since the outbreak, fending for herself using the twin katanas carried on her back. Trust is not something she is ready to give in her situation. After stumbling across a wounded Hunter, her first instinct is to kill it and move on. However, this one seems different from the others. A wild card is put into play when she forms a very unlikely alliance with the infected, but with no small amount of hesitation. The two eventually run into the survivors during a horde attack. Nick is hardly ready to accept a Hunter into the group, but Ellis thinks it could work to their benefit. Although they are startled by the Hunter, they offer for Nevaeh to join their group. Ellis wants her to come to New Orleans with them, but she doesn't trust the military. She remains slightly detached from the others at first, unwilling to form close bonds during a time loved ones can be so easily taken away, but she's left someone else in the group completely smitten.**

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 **Chapter #1: Bear Trap**

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Her legs pumped rapidly beneath her, her deep breathing the only sound around her aside from the rustling of the trees and crunching of leaves and twigs beneath her feet as she ran. Beads of sweat trickled down her neck and between the valley of her breasts, heart hammering against her ribs from the exertion. The air was sticky and humid, but she did not stop running, having just narrowly escaped the wrath of a Tank. The second it was dead, she had taken off at a full sprint, fearing what the beast's roars and thunderous bellows had managed to attract. That had been over a mile back from where she was now, but she did not stop just yet. At the very least, she wanted a couple good miles between her and the disturbance before allowing herself rest. Along the way, she'd run into a few stragglers, but she was able to take them out silently using the twin katanas that were crossed behind her back.

At long last, she came across a thicket that could serve as a temporary hideaway until she recovered. Ducking beneath the branches, she dropped to her knees and attempted to catch her breath, sweat trickling down her skin in steady droplets. The air was thick and muggy, lacking a breeze that she so desperately desired to cool her overheated body. If it hadn't been for that hulking gorilla, she wouldn't even be in this situation.

Closing her eyes, she leaned back against the tree she was sitting behind and allowed her muscles to relax only for a moment, as a weary sigh escaped through her lips. She felt like she'd been in this forest for years, when in reality it had only been a few days. The trees never seemed to end, stretching far and wide, and when she looked up their thinning canopies seemed to stretch for miles. And the heat. God, the heat. Thankfully, the day was nearing a close, which meant the temperature would be going down soon, but she needed to find shelter. In the forest, it was nearly impossible to see at night with the trees blocking out most of the moonlight, so she would be in no shape to fight should a horde or, God forbid, another Tank decided to cross her path. Zombie fucking apocalypse. Shit like this was only supposed to happen in movies. Just months ago, she had been getting ready to graduate with her doctorate, and all of a sudden the streets had erupted into a chaotic tumult that left her hometown in ruins along with most of the people. If there were any survivors, she had no idea how many or where they were.

It had been an episode from the _Walking Dead_ since then. She spent all her time either running from infected or fighting them off, and when she finally managed to find a safe house or some sort of alternative shelter, she had to focus on healing any wound she might have and resting up for her departure. Safe houses served as a brief haven from the hell lurking outside, but they were hardly permanent. All she could do was hope that she would one day come across other people or some sort of base camp where survivors had bunkered up, like in the movies. She hardly fancied the idea of continuing on like this as a permanent state of affairs.

Suddenly, she froze when she heard what sounded like a whimper of sorts. Sitting up in full alert, she poked her head out from the thicket and glanced around cautiously. There were no infected in sight. What had caused that sound? It almost sounded like someone was in pain.

"Hello?" she called out in a whisper. When she received no answer, she came to the conclusion that she could very well be dealing with a witch. She prayed not, and that it was just a wounded animal. Witches could be worse than tanks if not taken out properly and with the right weapon. She'd learned that one the hard way, the healing scars on her right hip proof of that.

With the caution of a doe entering an open field during hunting season, she crept out from the concealing branches of the thicket, crawling in a fashion that was much like a hunter. She had picked up these mannerisms from the hunting trips her father had taken her on when she was a teenager. She never liked hunting much. It was cruel in her opinion, but he had always used all of the animal. It wasn't like he had just chopped off the head, mounted it on his wall, and dumped the rest. Anyways, the stalking methods he had taught her had proved to help her a lot in her current situation, especially when dealing with the more cunning infected such as the hunters. She had studied each type of infected's behavior and weaknesses carefully, and she now knew how each of them moved, thought, and attacked.

Cautiously, she crept towards the sound of rustling leaves, having located where the noise was coming from. It was coming from behind a small cluster of boulders, and as she drew near the rustling stopped, and she was presented with a low, guttural growl. Her entire body froze. Without thinking twice, she instantly dove behind the boulders, pulling her desert eagle from her pocket and cocking it. If this was a hunter she was dealing with, she wasn't taking her chances. However, when the attack didn't come, she found herself frowning a slightest bit in confusion. It should have been on her by now.

She closed her eyes. This was a _bad_ idea. Turning, she reached up and warily began to climb up the boulders, virtually silent as she made her way to the top. When she tentatively peered downwards at the other side, her eyebrows shot high on her forehead at what she saw. It was a hunter, all right, but it was clearly injured. Good. This would be an easy kill. Standing, she jumped down from the rocks, landing in front of the wounded infected. It gave a violent jump and high-pitched yelp, clearly startled by her sudden appearance.

Reaching back, she instantly whipped out her swords, wielding them in stance as she crept closer to the injured creature. Its wrists were tied with a thick cord, much to her curiosity. This was obviously another survivor's doing. As she drew near, she realized its leg was caught in a bear trap, and, judging by the torn pant leg and bleeding gashes that raked up its leg, she guessed it had put up one hell of a fight to free itself, but had been unable to due to its binds. The growls grew increasingly louder as she closed in, evidently warning her to keep her distance. It was like circling an injured animal. It was unbelievable to her, to think that this creature had once been a regular human guy. Now it looked more like a demon that had ascended straight from hell's pit, fingers tipped with razor sharp claws that dug at the earth in its desperate attempt to free itself. If the dark blue hoodie had been fur, she was sure its hackles would have been bristled.

She dared to take a step closer, but she was rewarded with a fierce snarl, and its free leg made a vicious swipe at her, teeth exposed in a sneer. She stepped back hastily when a piercing shriek nearly caused her to jump straight out of her skin. Once the hunter's screeches died down, she stood still as a statue, tensed and preparing herself for the worst. Seconds turned to minutes, every sense bright and alert for oncoming infected. To her great surprise and relief, the noise had only attracted a few straggling zombies that came stumbling onto the scene, which she was able to quietly take out with her katanas. The less gunfire the better. Once the last one had dropped, she turned her attentions back to the hunter, who still lay on the ground, leg still snagged in the cruel-looking device. The screech had been of pain. When it had tried attacking her, it had jostled the metal teeth in its flesh, which she imagined had been extremely painful.

Then suddenly, she paused as it hit her that it had actually hurt. Infected didn't feel pain. She had seen it herself—the way they just kept coming until the fatal blow was received, barely staggered by the bullets piercing their flesh. Yet this hunter appeared to be in evident amounts of distress.

 _Enough of this, Vaeh. Kill the damn thing and put it out of its misery before you have a horde on your hands._ Adjusting her grip on her katanas, she looked down at the bloodied blades before back up towards the Hunter, who was staring at the weapons intently. It was strange—almost like it was aware of exactly what was going on. In truth, she felt a little bad for the beast. It was a harsh way to go out, impaled in the head like a pig in a slaughterhouse, but what was she supposed to do? There was nothing she could do. Its fate had been sealed the moment its leg had gotten caught in the trap. Hell, it had been sealed the moment the virus had entered its bloodstream.

He coiled defensively when she took a step closer, like a cobra preparing to strike, and he emitted a guttural growl, warning her to back off. Why couldn't she just leave him alone?! He wasn't bothering her. Hell, he couldn't even swipe at her without causing himself tremendous pain. The teeth of the bear trap dug deep into his leg, sending ripples of pain throbbing through his entire body with even the slightest of movement. He whimpered, scared despite the menacing growls he emitted at the woman before him. He wasn't stupid. He knew exactly what she was planning to do with those swords, and it terrified him. It wasn't until she shifted her grip on the handles that his intimidating guise began to falter, betraying his fear.

Nevaeh watched as the hunter tried moving away from her at the sight of her raising one of the swords. Although half its face was covered by the hood, she could tell it was frightened. Actually, it looked scared out of its mind. Odd. She had never witnessed an infected display any sort of emotion aside from an animalistic rage. She felt guilt twist in her gut, but she knew she had to go through with it. If anything, it was a mercy kill. Re-sheathing one of her swords, she gripped the one with both hands and lifted it for the downward strike, and she was responded to with a startled shriek as the hunter tried moving away from her, but to no avail.

 _No!_ He screamed mentally. _I don't want to die! I don't want to die! LEAVE ME ALONE!_

Just as she was going to make the downward swing and plummet the blade into the infected's skull, she suddenly stopped short when she heard what sounded like a pleading whimper escape its throat. It shrunk away from her, whimpering quietly, and she was shocked to see it had begun to tremble. If it hadn't looked pitiful before, it certainly did now. Sighing heavily, she lowered her weapon and stared down at the creature, at a loss. She was not used to seeing hunters afraid. It was a strange sight to behold. It was almost like it understood her…. _This is ridiculous. You've officially gone insane…._

"…Look at me."

It did, and she was wildly unprepared. Blinking, she stared at it openly.

"Can you understand me…?"

In a way too hesitant for infected nature, it lifted itself up the slighted bit with its arms, and made a feeble motion she guessed was a nod.

"Jax…" it croaked. The sound was grating and raspy, but it was definitely a word. A name perhaps?

She was flabbergasted. "Jax…? Is… is that your name?"

Another feeble nod.

"Incredible." Her eyes were wide. "You can understand English." Removing one of her hands from the katana, she motioned to herself. "Nevaeh. Can you say that?"

A frown pulled at the Hunter's face, and it—he—made a small sound in return, but made no effort to repeat her name. It seemed that one syllable was all he was capable of. Still, the fact he could _understand_ her was a step beyond incredible.

"I won't kill you if that's what you want…" She watched his body visibly relax. "If you want it off, you're going to have to let me touch you," she said finally. God, what was she thinking? The second it was fre, it would probably try tearing her to shreds. Inhaling a calming breath through her nose, she took a slow step forwards once more.

He instantly tensed up again, and he released another low growl, but it wasn't nearly as menacing as his prior threats. The vocalization was one of nervousness. Like one would do to a startled horse, she held her hands up as a sign of peace.

"It's okay. Easy." She moved a little closer to the tense hunter, listening as he continued to growl low in his throat. "Come now, stop that. If I wanted you dead, I would have killed you already."

The growling died down a bit, but she could still hear him. Cautiously, she crouched down near his legs and examined the bear trap with close scrutiny. Bright red, _normal_ blood seeped from the open wound. _Its blood isn't coagulated. What on earth?_ The teeth hadn't cut into any vital arteries. He was lucky.

"How did you get yourself in this situation, anyway?" She looked at him, but she was met with blank stare. She sighed. "Right…" Gingerly, she touched his leg, and he instantly he flinched away. "Do you want it off or not?"

He emitted a pitiful whimper.

"I'll try to be gentle. Are you going to let me do this or not?"

He looked up at her in fear, but when he made no attempt to stop her she took it as her go to continue.

"You need to be quiet. Understand?"

He nodded meekly, and she released a breath to compose herself. _Here goes nothing._

She applied pressure on the flat spring of the bear trap, and she was rewarded with a cry of pain from her patient when she jostled the metal teeth. When she looked up, she saw he had buried his face in his arm to stifle himself, entire body tensed so tight he was actually shaking a little. The trap's grip on his leg was tight, but eventually it fell open as she applied all her bodyweight on the springs. He instantly retracted his leg, and she kicked the nasty thing away with a look of disgust before returning her attention to his leg. It was bleeding steadily and needed to be bound. Her eyes shifted back up towards his face, half concealed by the hood, but she could tell he was staring straight at her.

"May I see?" she asked, as calmly as she could.

He looked nothing short of distrusting, but when she made a move to reach for his leg, he didn't lash out or growl at her. Shrugging off her backpack, she unzipped the largest compartment and pulled out a med kit and hunting knife. He tensed visibly at the sight of the blade, but she held her hands up again in a calming gesture, and he hesitantly relaxed. Using the sharp edge of the blade, she lifted the end of the duct tape that was wrapped around the bottom half of his leg, and she began to unwind it. Once it was off, she was able to roll his pant leg up and expose his wounds. She made quick work of cleaning and binding his leg, using the knife afterwards to cut the gauze before taping it down. He had been whimpering and whining throughout the whole process, but there were no more high-pitched screeches. Once that was finished, she pulled his pant leg back down. Now all that remained was his hands, which were still bound by the cord.

He looked up at her as she came to kneel by his head. Reaching into her pocket, she pulled out the lock pick she always kept on her and grabbed his wrists. After some brief tinkering, the lock fell loose, and she unwrapped the cord from his wrists before taking a quick step back. He got up almost instantly, the movement sharp and quicker than she expected. He lifted his leg, as if to test out her handiwork, and his hand disappeared into his pocket. She quirked an eyebrow when he removed a roll of duct tape from the hoodie, watching as he replaced the tape she had removed. _So human..._ Taking his distraction as an opportunity, she turned and began walking away. Sure, he wasn't attacking her now, but that could change at any moment.

A rustling caused her to stop short in her steps, before she whipped around sharply and aimed the desert eagle she kept at her hip. The hunter had begun to follow her on all fours, but he had froze the second he saw the gun aimed between his eyes.

"Shoo." She waved the gun at him in a gesture for him to turn away. "Go on, now."

He didn't move, tilting his head at her, much like a confused dog.

"Get!" She kicked some earth at him, and he hastily backed up, frowning deeply at her. "You're free, now go. Don't think I won't kill you if you get too close."

His frown deepened, and she turned away once more, ignoring the little voice telling her she was being harsh. Seemingly intelligent or not, he was still an infected, and not just any infected. He was a hunter. That was not something she wanted following her around at a close distance.

She paused suddenly. Again, she heard the crunching of twigs behind her, and, slowly, she looked over her shoulder.

He stopped once he saw she was looking at him and backed up a couple steps when she raised her gun once more. It was obvious she didn't want him following her, but he wanted to. She interested him, and so far she was the only person who hadn't tried killing him the second she saw him, unlike the men who had tied him down. They had seen him snagged in that bear trap, and they had laughed. They had laughed at him, taunting him with their weapons, not backing down no matter how much he screeched at them. One of them had managed to snag his wrists while the other shoved his head into the ground painfully. He shivered at the memory of their fingers digging cruelly into the wound on his leg, but his shrieks and screams had been muffled by the way the other shoved his face into the ground. This woman was different. She had clearly known releasing him was a bad idea, but she had _seen_ him. She'd been able to see past the animalistic exterior and recognize he was afraid. Rather than killing him, she had taken a huge risk and freed him. Why? He'd probably never know. Despite the fact she'd saved him, she obviously didn't want him around. It had been a merciful favor. She had been able to tell he was different. That didn't mean she trusted or wanted him.

He was wildly unprepared when she suddenly fired at the ground by his feet. The deafening bang caused him to leap into the air in fright. The speed at which he had sprung off in the opposite direction could have rivaled a bullet, not having even fully processed what was happening.

Nevaeh watched the hunter tear off like a bottle rocket, feeling a bit guilty in spite of the fact she should have just killed him to begin with. Turning, she quickly took off in the opposite direction before he decided to round back and take vengeance. There was a safe house nearby. If she could make it there before nightfall, it would be all the better. Yet in the very back of her mind, she couldn't help but wonder if she had been right about chasing the Hunter off. He was the first infected she had run into that had expressed a single trace of intelligence, and she had sent him away. Oh well. It was too late to turn back now. There was no telling what that gunshot had attracted.

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 **This is a rewrite of my story "Nevaeh". I wasn't liking the direction it was taking, so I decided to change and fix it early on. It was moving a little too fast for me.**


	2. Batman and Joker

**Chapter #2: Batman and Joker**

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She was sure there were a vast list of things that could have made her situation worse, but her racing mind couldn't come up with any at the moment.

She tried to shake the rattling in her skull from the hard landing as she held the hunter back by its neck, just barely keeping those teeth at bay as the claws flailed in their rabid attempt to tear into her. She gritted her teeth as the talons managed to catch her in the shoulder, but she didn't relent her grip on its throat. Lifting her hand, which she had managed to wriggle from beneath its grip, she sent a blow to the infected's jaw. Its head snapped to the side with a snarl, claws momentarily ceasing in their frantic slashing, and she took the opportunity to get her feet up underneath it and push upwards. Its arms flailed with the sudden loss of gravity, and she tossed it to the side with a shout. It rolled, but soon regained its footing, and before she was able to so much as get onto all fours it was lunging at her again.

And it would have gotten her if it hadn't been for the dark blur that suddenly flew in from her left, an enraged screech echoing through the air, and tackled the hunter midair.

She jumped as they landed in a tangled mess of teeth and claws. It was another hunter, and upon closer inspection she realized it was not just any hunter. At first, she refused to believe it, but it was him. It was the one she had spared from the bear trap. They fought viciously, faces contorted in irate snarls. It was a chaotic mess of claws, teeth, biting, kicking, and scratching. It was like watching a pair of mountain lions fighting over a scrap of meat... and she was the meat.

Standing quickly, she ignored the pain in her shoulder and took off in the opposite direction, deciding to take this opportunity as her chance at escape. The safe house was just another half a mile according to her map. The hunters' screeches had attracted some more unwanted company, but so far it was just common infected, which she cut through easily with her katanas. At long last, she reached the safe house and scrambled for a moment with the door before running inside and slamming the door shut behind her. She collapsed against the wall, sliding slowly to the floor; chest heaving as she tried to regain her breath. Off in the far distance, she could still hear the hunters' shrieks, although faint, but eventually they ceased. She wondered which one had came out the winner, or if they were both dead. That hunter had been following her the entire time, and she hadn't even noticed. The thought sent chills down her back.

Lifting her hands, she pressed her fingers to her temples, massaging firm circles to ease the migraine setting in.

By the time she had reached the safe house, the sun had already been close to setting. Now she sat alone in the dark, having turned off the light to avoid attracting more infected. In the distance, she could hear a few infected milling around outside, but she paid them no mind, even when she heard one creeping along the side of the house. Unless it was a Tank, she did not care. A light scratching at the door caused her to open her eyes briefly, but they closed again soon after.

 _Whimper_.

Her eyes opened. She knew that sound. Sitting up a little straighter, she looked towards the door, and there was a small thud. Slowly, her eyebrows drew together. No. It couldn't be. Standing quietly, she silently approached the door, cautious of the barred window as she peered downwards.

She froze. It was the hunter. She recognized him by the torn pant leg. He was curled up at the bottom of the door, hoodie torn from the fight. There were no serious wounds that she could see, but there was no doubt in her mind he was sporting a few good cuts and bite marks.

Briefly, she thought back on all that had happened. He had saved her. There was no denying that. She had been an easy target, and he had not gone after her. He had been following her this whole time, but he hadn't ventured close enough for her to see or hear, knowing she probably would have chased him off again. The second he saw she was in serious danger, he had leapt into action.

She was, to say the very least, astonished. He had been protecting her, and now he was standing guard outside her door. It didn't make a lick of sense to her. He was a hunter. He shouldn't have known anything outside the proper method of tearing someone to shreds. Speechless, she lifted her hand, hesitating only for a moment before tapping lightly on her side of the door.

"Hey," she called quietly.

His head lifted up towards her.

"Have you been following me?" she whispered.

He stared blankly for a long moment, before looking down again. That was a yes. She contemplated her decision for a long moment, already knowing she was going to regret it. Closing her eyes, she let out a slow breath.

"I hope I don't regret this…" Reaching up, she unlocked the door, and he looked back up in alert when he felt it push against his back. He moved away quickly, bounding off to a safe distance.

She peeked out to check for nearby infected, but when she saw there were none in plain view she looked back towards the hunter, who had taken crouched refuge behind the thick trunk of a large oak tree. With her mind still screaming at her to turn back, she motioned for him to come closer.

"Come here. I won't shoot you."

He seemed interested but made no move to venture from the safety of the tree.

"Come."

For a long moment he didn't move, but at long last he slowly emerged from his hiding spot, approaching her like a wary tiger. She stepped aside to allow him passage once he was close enough, watching as he cautiously crept into the doorway and peeked around like a stray cat being invited into a home. She waited patiently until he finally slunk the rest of the way inside, and she quietly closed the door behind him. He jumped slightly, head snapping behind him to the door, but she remained calm as she walked passed him to sit back down in her corner. Looking over, she saw he was staring at her, head tilted much like a curious dog.

"Why are you protecting me?" she asked.

As expected, she was answered with nothing more than a blank stare. She sighed. This was going to be difficult if he couldn't speak, and she was tired as all hell. This could wait until morning. Turning over, she laid down on her side, back facing him. Although her eyes were closed, she remained alert. A few minutes later, she heard a small shuffle from across the room, and her eye cracked open as he drew near. Rolling over, she pointed her gun at him warningly, and he froze at seeing the weapon.

"Not on the first date, honey." Flicking her wrist, she used the gun to motion to the other end of the safe house. "There's extra sleeping bags over there."

He looked to where she was motioning before turning his head back to her. When she showed no signs of lowering her gun, he submissively backed down and turned away. It hurt slightly that she was still acting cold towards him after he had done nothing but protect her, but, on the other end, he knew he shouldn't be shocked. He was infected, and she was used to being attacked by others like him. It was like Batman letting Joker into his house. A mouse trusting a cat. He was a monster she was supposed to fear. He looked like those things out there. A freak of nature.

With a heavy heart, he curled up on the pile if sleeping bags, head nestled into his arm. His whole body hurt, the cuts, scrapes, and bite marks he had acquired from his fight with the other hunter irritated with each turn and slight movement he made. It had been a close call, and the fight could have gone either way, but the other had stumbled for the briefest of seconds when it had tripped over a small bounder. This fleeting opportunity had been what saved his life, as he had leapt onto the other and snapped his opponent's neck. The woman had been long gone by that time, but he had known where she was headed, and he followed her scent to the safe house. It was a miracle she had let him in. A shred of hope had risen within him when he thought that maybe she was starting to warm up to him, but now he was realizing that probably wasn't the case. She was still threatening him whenever he got too close, and she wasn't making much of an effort to communicate with him. He wasn't an idiot. He was aware she was probably just keeping him around for her own use after what she had seen him do to that hunter. That was all he was to her—an attack dog.

In reality, he could have her on a leash if he wanted. His increased strength since infection had not gone unnoticed, and if he desired to do so he could have her pinned and trembling beneath him in fear within seconds, but what would that accomplish other than getting him kicked out again? He didn't want to kill her, so threatening her was useless. The infection had taken away his identity, but it hadn't managed to destroy his humanity like it had with the others. He was still able to understand English, think, and feel pain, but his lack of communication skills rendered those capabilities all but useless to survivors. When they saw him, they saw a hunter—a hooded monster who knew nothing more than to lunge and maul. She would probably never trust him, but at the very least she was allowing him to stick around. With a frown tugging at his lips, he closed his eyes and fell into a troubled sleep.

The next morning, she had awoken to find the hunter perched on the long table by the door. He was staring out the barred window, but he looked up towards her when she sat up. Bringing her arms up over her head, she stretched the sore muscles with a yawn.

"Morning."

He made a small sound she took as his version of a "good morning", and she stood. She proceeded to start her morning stretches, arching her body back in a backbend until she felt a satisfying pop. Once that was done, she walked over to her bag and pulled out a granola bar. Turning towards her companion, she held one up to him.

"Want one?"

He shook his head, and she shrugged. Standing, she slung her backpack over her shoulder and walked up to the door, chewing thoughtfully on the bar as she scoped out her surroundings.

"You see anything out there?" she asked.

A small growl was her answer, and she spotted them. A few infected were milling around behind the shrubbery. Sighing, she went to open the door, but a clawed hand on her arm stopped her. She looked towards the hunter at her side sharply with a small, questioning frown.

"What?"

He ushered her away, and she slowly took a step back as he opened the door and slipped outside. He shut it behind him, motioning for her to stay put. She did, watching with no small amount of curiosity from the bars. For the first few moments he was still, and then he was springing into action. She watched with a mixture of disbelief and intimidation as he pounced and snapped the necks of two infected before brutally smashing another's skull into a tree. There was a sickening crack and spurt of blood as its cranium shattered with the impact. Within a seconds, all six infected were dead.

She wasn't sure whether to be wary or relieved about her new partner, as he turned to face her and held up two thumbs as if to signal it was clear. Slowly, she stepped out, looking down at the fallen infected with solemn eyes. When she looked back up at him, her green orbs were slightly widened. He stared back. Now that it was daytime, she was able to see past the shadow of his hood a little better, and she realized, with more than surprise, that he still _had_ his eyes. This interested her. None of the other hunters had their eyes, having clawed them out, but not this one. His eyes were still intact, but they were almost completely black, making him look much like a demon. The only conclusion that she could come to was that they clawed their eyes out, because the infection made them incredibly sensitive to light, and it hurt their eyes so much that they'd been driven to gauge them out. Perhaps this hunter had been blind before being turned. It would explain his lack of sensitivity to light. But then why the hood? And why were his eyes black?

She shook her head, dismissing it from her mind for the moment. There were much bigger problems at hand. Turning her attention out at the forest, she started walking. When he began to follow her, she glanced back at him, and he stopped in his tracks. Was she going to chase him off again?

"You know, you're not exactly someone I'd normally allow to hang around."

He remained silent, anticipating her next words with a blank stare.

"But what the hell." She nodded as a signal for him to follow.

The stupid smile that appeared on his face almost immediately after nearly caused her to shake her head in amusement, as he bounded up to her side and straightened to his full height. He was like a fucking dog. If he had ears, she was sure they would be flickering around as they walked. She could tell he was listening intently to their surroundings. If there was a threat nearby, he would know long before she did. Despite how incredibly wrong it was, she felt a sense of security wash over her. She still hadn't completely absorbed the past twenty-four hours, or that she was now teamed up with a hunter. Eh, why not, right? So what if the Joker was suddenly protecting Batman?

Up until about five months ago, zombies were just monsters in horror movies. She felt like a rabbit teaming up with a wolf. She looked to the hunter again, considering him closely for a moment.

"What did you say your name was again?"

He looked at her, and he was silent for a moment. She remained patient, knowing speaking was a difficult task for him.

"Ja-…ax…"

It was rough, but she got it. "Jax. Right."

He seemed to be struggling with something. "A…"

She blinked. "What?" Then it clicked. "…A... jax?"

The way his face instantly brightened told her she was correct.

"Ajax? Your name is Ajax?"

He nodded. She couldn't help but smile faintly at his excitement.

"I'm Nevaeh, but you can call me Vaeh if that's easier for you."

He nodded again, still smiling, and looked back forward. Okay, so she didn't fully trust him yet, but he was entertaining. It was like having a highly intelligent dog around, and despite the possible danger it presented she found herself grateful for the change of pace and company. Then, all of a sudden, he stopped short. She halted with him, snapping to full alert.

"What is it?"

He grabbed her by her jacket and quickly ducked behind a cluster of bushes, ushering for her to do the same. She did, and he pressed down on her shoulder. She got the general idea. Once convinced she would stay put, he crept out from behind the bushes on all fours, sniffing at the air. Nevaeh waited as he disappeared behind the rock formations in the area. Seconds turned to minutes, and minutes felt like hours, when finally the hunter reemerged. He motioned for her to come out of hiding, and after giving her surroundings a quick check she stood cautiously. He was looking down at something, and when she jogged over to join him she realized what had him so unsettled. Below them, at the bottom of the hill they were standing on, the rotting, charred corpse of a Tank lay there. She stared at it long and hard for a few moments.

"There must have been other people here." Lifting her head, she looked out at the forest. "Town isn't too far from here. That's where they must be headed."

Ajax looked up at her, frowning slightly. It was clear she wanted to pursue them, but he hardly did. The last time he had ran into survivors, they had chained him up and tortured him. A small whine left his throat at the thought before he could stop it.

Nevaeh looked down at him, and at seeing the troubled expression on the hunter's face she remembered what he had gone through. "It's okay."

He looked up at her.

"You cover my back, and I'll cover yours. Deal?"

He stared at her for a lengthy minute, contemplating her words carefully. _You cover my back, and I'll cover yours._ So she was promising to protect him? Did this make them a team?

"We're going to have to work out a method of communication, though," Nevaeh continued. "We'll work on that on the way."

A nod was all he could manage. She was allowing him to stay with her, and now she was promising to watch out for him? That's what teams did, right? What friends did…? No. _Don't get ahead of yourself._ She wasn't his friend. He would have liked to be her friend, but he knew that even though she was allowing him to stay, she didn't trust him. At least not enough to call him a friend. He was a monster. There was almost no doubt in his mind she would have given him a single sniff if she'd had other people at her side to watch out for her. Nevertheless, he felt no anger. He felt no disdain. He felt a mixture of gratitude, still, but loneliness. Unwanted. It wasn't like he could blame her. He'd probably shun away something like him, too.


	3. Get Up

**Disclaimer: Left 4 Dead and its characters belong to Valve.**

 **Shadowclone076 Reborn:** **Thank you :) Hope to hear more from you.**

 **PsychoTyco: That's always a welcomes set of compliments! Bad grammar and poor dialogue drives me insane, too. Thanks so much and hope to hear from you again! xoxo**

* * *

 **Chapter #3: Get Up**

* * *

She collapsed heavily against the shabby wall of the safehouse, emitting a sigh of pure exhaustion as she slowly slid down to the floorboards. None. No infected had been within sight as they were approaching the abandoned motel, and then, just as they were within one hundred feet, a horde had rushed them without a single shred of warning. Even the Tank that had made a grand appearance by throwing two cars at them had not emitted any of the usual alarming sounds to signal its approach.

Ajax had covered her when a Smoker hooked her, grabbing her to keep her still before bringing down his claws on the tongue, slicing the slimy appendage and sending a sickening green fluid spewing out from the severed appendage. She had emitted a startled gasp when he'd grabbed her, but she had made no move to pull her gun on him again. He had not allowed even a second for the Smoker to recover before pouncing it with a ferocity that could have rivaled a rabid tiger. A burst of green smoke in his face had not been put into calculation, however, and he was momentarily incapacitated by the suffocating smog, his eyes stinging and watering as he bound off in a frantic attempt to escape the choking cloud. During this brief moment of vulnerability, Nevaeh had shot down another Hunter that had taken off after him, managing a headshot just before it reached him and sending it to a sliding landing on the roof.

With the Hunter around, hordes hardly felt as perilous, but even so she did not dare drop her guard. She watched in-between attacks as he took out infected left and right, springing back and forth and ricocheting off walls and other surfaces without pause or fatigue. If she hadn't been completely overwhelmed by the onslaught, she might have just taken a moment to stand and watch the almost hypnotic display.

Nevaeh released another sigh and lifted her hands to rub at her eyes tenderly. "That was fun, huh?"

Ajax emitted an incoherent grumble before promptly collapsing to the floor in an exhausted heap. She allowed a small chuckle and stretched out her legs. "Thanks for having my back with that Smoker."

Looking at her, he shrugged nonchalantly, and she managed a faint smile.

"You know… for a Hunter, you're not so bad."

Lifting his head, a small smile tugged at his lips, almost hesitant in nature. Despite her better judgment, she was starting to warm up to the hooded infected. If she was in trouble, he always came through without fail, and it had almost gotten him killed a few times. He had the wounds to prove it. Tilting her head, she considered him thoughtfully for a moment. She had so many questions for him, but due to his limited communication skills she had to keep it as simple as possible, which made it hard to get the detailed answers she craved. However, any answer was better than nothing, so she decided to stick with the basics to begin with.

"Do you remember anything? Before infection?"

He looked down. No. He didn't. Looking back up at her, he shook his head, and she nodded.

"Have you seen any other people? You know... besides the ones that tied you down?"

Again, he shook his head.

"Well, that's reassuring." Sighing, she leaned back against the wall. "Is it too much to ask to not be the only living person left on Earth?"

Ajax lowered his head. Looking down at his hands, he stared at the clawed tips with a grim awareness. He was one of them. Whether he acted like them or not, he was one of them. He wasn't human. Not anymore.

"I mean... I can't be the only one left," Nevaeh continued.

He looked back up at her.

"There must be others. The question is... can they be trusted." She turned her head to him. "I definitely don't want to be around the people that tied you down."

He snorted. That made the both of them. He wasn't a killer, but if he ever saw those bastards again he wouldn't hesitate to tear them a new hole.

* * *

Nevaeh walked silently behind Ajax as he lead her through the forest, ears perked and eyes peeled, darting every which way to scan the trees, but so far they had only run into a few common infected. Ajax paused every now and then to give the air a good whiff, but then moved on. She had come to learn that he would growl whenever he sensed something more dangerous than a common was around, and if it was an immediate threat, such as a Tank or a pouncing Hunter, he would emit a shrill screech. He had done so earlier, when he had sensed the presence of a Spitter, and Nevaeh had barely registered what was going on before he was pouncing her and knocking her out of the way just as a ball of bright green acid flew passed them. She had taken the Spitter out with a single shot to the head.

"Were you always like this?"

He looked back at her from his perch on a boulder, having stopped to give his surroundings another careful scan. What did she mean by that?

"When you were infected," she clarified. "Were you always so self-aware? Or did you start... like the rest?" Though she couldn't see the upper half of his face, by the way his head made a slight tilt downwards she could tell a troubled glint wavered in his eyes.

No, he hadn't, but should he admit it? Did he remember it in detail? No. However, he remembered waking up not knowing where he was or how he had gotten there, and he had seen the crimson splattering his clothes, hands, and mouth. Seeing his clawed fingertips, it had taken a single look in the mirror to send him lurching over the sink, only vomiting more when he both seen and tasted the blood that was mixed into the contents of his stomach. When he had finally regained control of his body, his mind was hardly recovered. He had been a wreck for days, remaining curled up in a ball in the corner of an abandoned motel room—unable to do much more than sleep and breathe as he absorbed the horror of his situation. Eating had been completely out of the question, the image of the contents that had spilled from his stomach causing him to blanche at the mere thought of food. He probably would have died there if it hadn't been for the Tank that came stumbling into the motel. He'd managed to make a safe escape, shocking himself at how far he was able to run and jump obstacles. When he had stumbled upon a Walmart, he'd made quick work of ditching his clothes and replacing them, unable to stand the sight of blood he could only assume he had shed staining the fabric. Some duct tape and quick wash up later, he had managed to erase all evidence of the potential slaughter from his body—but not from his mind. It was a constant guilt that tortured his mind.

It hadn't taken him long to realize he was not like the other humans, but he wasn't like the other infected, either. If his heart hadn't been beating before, it was beating now. He was alive, he bled, he slept, he got hungry—and yet his body showed no further signs of getting over the infection. The tips of his fingers still had claws. His strength was far from human, and animalistic noises replaced his ability to speak. He walked the walk and talked the talk of a Hunter, not a human man, and that was all anyone would ever notice. It didn't matter how he thought.

"Ajax!"

His head snapped up, startled. He quickly realized he had been completely submerged in his thoughts when he saw the pointed stare Nevaeh was setting him with, and the caution shimmering in her green orbs didn't go unnoticed, either. Head lowering, he emitted a low noise and shrugged his shoulders, knowing there was no way he could ever convey his thoughts to her without being able to speak. He would have, too. He would have told her everything if that's what she wanted—but he couldn't.

Nevaeh took note of the dismal expression on the Hunter's face with calculating eyes, the caution having left her stare for the most part. For a second, she had been worried he was, for some reason, not taking in her words—like the infected part of him was taking over. Now, however, she realized he had just been lost in thought, and by the look on his face she could plainly see they hadn't been happy ones. Something was clearly troubling him, but they both knew there was no way for him to express to her what. It was nothing short of frustrating. She could tell he was intelligent—just mute—and he didn't know sign language. She had tried getting him to write it down, but he could barely keep his hand steady enough to write legibly.

Then suddenly, his head snapped up towards the sky, the sharp movement startling her, but before she was able to ask him what he had heard or smelled he was running towards her and grabbing her by the arm. This only startled her deeper, but she knew better than to argue with him when he was alarmed about something he had sensed. That was when she heard it. Guttural growling resounded in the shrubbery around them, coming from no specific location that she could pinpoint as Ajax held her close by her arm. Suddenly, he was pushing her down, and she yelped as she fell flat on her stomach, jumping a mile when he got down on all fours on top of her, much like a lioness would do to protect her cubs from another predator. Despite her natural instinct to run, she knew this was probably the safest spot she could be right now rather than running in the open where she could be pounced.

Ajax could feel her trembling slightly beneath him, her tension and unease obvious, but he did not move, rigidly staying on top of her as he listened to the hidden Hunter's movements in the shrubbery around them. Whether she trusted him or not, he wasn't going to let anything happen to her. He owed her everything, even if she was only keeping him around for her own benefit. In the end, she had been the only one to show him mercy, and that earned her his loyalty. His head suddenly snapped forward at a rustling in the shrubbery less than ten feet in front of them, and he could feel Nevaeh tense in fear beneath him.

Nevaeh stared with wide eyes as the enemy Hunter made its appearance, slowly creeping out on all fours from the bushes in front of her. Her heart raced in her chest, pounding against her ribcage in fear as it stalked closer to them, lips pulled back to expose crimson-stained teeth. On top of her, she could feel Ajax bristle, the growling emitting from his throat low and guttural—a clear warning to the other to back the hell off. However, this Hunter was not being easy to intimidate.

"Ajax," she whispered tremulously.

She felt his hands on her side, and she tensed as they slowly moved downwards. What was he doing? His eyes never left the Hunter before him as he carefully felt around her waistline, when his hands suddenly stopped on what she realized were the handles of her daggers. All she was able to process was the sudden increase in volume of the other Hunter's growls, before it released a piercing shriek as it pounced.

Ajax lunged in the same second, and they collided in a violent clash of limbs, but he had planned it all out in his head. Tackling his opponent by the middle, he was able to slam him down to the ground on his back. Wielding the two daggers, he drove them down into the other's hands, staking them into the ground a mere second before he was able to lash out at him. His mouth opened to release an agonized screech, but Ajax's hand smothered him last second. Grabbing him by the jaw, with a single, effortless jerk he snapped the Hunter's neck, and his body fell limp beneath his.

All was still for a moment, when a faint rustling behind him made him turn his head over his shoulder to see Nevaeh had risen to her knees, her large eyes staring at him in obvious fear. He winced. Looking back down, he removed the blades from the dead Hunter's hands with a firm yank and wiped them off on the infected's bloodstained hoodie. Rising to his feet, he turned back to face her, eyes solemn beneath the shadow of his hood, and he peacefully handed her weapons back to her, making sure to keep the handles facing her. It took her a moment, but then she slowly stepped forward, reached out, and took the daggers. He half expected her to use them on him with the way she was looking at him, but he received a shock when her lips finally parted.

"Thank you."

He blinked, nonplussed. A thank you had been the absolute _last_ thing he had been expecting. Before he realized what he was doing, he was smiling at her.

The moment was shattered the next second, though, when they were abruptly alerted to the combined shrieking and groans of an approaching horde. Their heads snapped up in unison, Nevaeh's eyes wide with alarm.

"What the hell attracted a horde?" she exclaimed.

Before Ajax could respond, she was bolting in the opposite direction. Knowing it was safer to run than to fight, he ran after her. Their legs carried them swiftly through the forest, the trees whizzing passed them in blurred lines as they tried to put distance between them and the army of infected gaining on them. In spite of how hard they ran, though, they weren't losing the horde.

"Do you hear that?" Nevaeh called.

He had. The distant sound of running water could be heard in the near distance. They were nearing the creek. It snuck up on them, as they burst through the trees into a clearing, and they found themselves skidding to an abrupt halt on a small cliff overlooking the rocky waters below. Ajax had managed to grab onto a tree and stop his fall, but Nevaeh wasn't so lucky, and his head snapped up in alarm when he heard her release a frightened shriek—just in time to see her toppling over the edge despite her efforts to stop.

Nevaeh screamed as she plummeted downwards, but just as she was going to hit the rocks she felt an arm wrap around her, and she jerked to an abrupt stop a mere three feet from what would have been an instant death. Breaths quickened with panic, her head snapped up, only to see Ajax had managed to catch her, his other arm clinging to a protruding branch above as he held onto the wall of the cliff with his feet. She could hardly absorb the fact he'd caught her as he carefully lowered them down, her heart racing from the rush of adrenaline rushing through her veins. They were hardly given ten seconds to recover before the horde was on top of them and spilling down the hill into the creek, forcing them to take off once more.

As they quickly became overwhelmed with charging infected, Nevaeh reached back, unsheathed her swords, and began cutting down anything in her path, as Ajax sprung into action around her, springing over the rocks and pouncing anything he could sink his claws into. When he had landed on a particularly tall boulder, he had spotted a Spitter a small distance behind Nevaeh, and he hastily released a warning screech in her direction, causing her to whip around and jump out of the way mere seconds before the fluorescent green goo landed in a simmering puddle where she had been standing. Her sword beheaded two infected as she turned, aiming her gun with her other hand and taking the Spitter out with a headshot.

A sudden, shrill screech made her whip around, realizing she was able to tell apart Ajax's vocals from other Hunters; for the screech did not belong to him. She was right. He was currently tangled in a vicious brawl with another hooded infected, but she was momentarily powerless to aid him as she was bombarded with multiple enemies.

Her head snapped up at a pained snarl just in time to see Ajax throw his opponent off him with his feet. In one fluid motion, she spun around, her blade cutting through three infected at once, grabbed her gun from her belt, and fired. The Hunter fell abruptly still in its haste to get back up and charge Ajax, landing with a dull splash in the shallow water.

Ajax's head snapped up, startled, and his eyes widened at the sight of Nevaeh turning back around to face the infected running at her from behind. Jumping down from the boulders, he sprung to help her, when a bellowing roar caused him to skid to an alarmed halt.

Nevaeh's head snapped up, spinning around in alarm. The next thing she knew, she was being roughly shoved aside, a startled yelp escaping her as the Charger bulldozed passed. She barely had time to register what happened when a pained shriek caused her to whip around, her eyes widening when she saw the Charger had Ajax in its grip, and despite the damage the Hunter was doing to the beast's arm he was not released. Turning, the bulkier infected threw him hard, and he crashed against a boulder with brutal impact.

"Ajax!"

He fell to the ground in a pained daze, barely able to move as the Charger prepared to attack again. Just as it was about to deliver the fatal blow, however, two bullets impaled its back, causing it to rear up in with an enraged bellow. It spun around to face Nevaeh, flying into instant attack mode while beating a meaty fist against its chest. With a thunderous bellow, it charged at her, causing Ajax to screech after it shrilly in attempt to veer its attention back to him, but to no avail.

Nevaeh readied herself, wielding her two katanas in her hands as she stood before a large boulder. Chargers were fast for their size, and they packed a lethal punch, but once charging they were bad at changing direction, and that was their greatest weakness. Counting to ten in her head, she ran to the side when she hit three, and as a result the Charger collided head first into the boulder, nearly knocking itself out from how hard it had hit. Taking its dazed state to her advantage, she leapt up off the boulder and drove both of her swords down into its back, and with a sharp twist its body was falling backwards into the cold water. She wasn't out of the woods yet, however. At least two dozen infected still remained, and with Ajax incapacitated she was left to defend herself against the onslaught, her eyes shifting back over to Ajax whenever she got the chance to see if he had moved, but he hadn't.

Finally, after a few bruises and a split lip later, she was running over to the fallen Hunter as he lay splayed ungracefully over the rocks, partially submerged in the chilled water. He still hadn't gotten up, but he was alive. Sheathing her swords, she carefully rolled up his hoodie, listening as he whimpered quietly. His ribs were bruised, but after some gentle prodding she came to an educated guess that they weren't broken, but it was possible they were fractured. Thanks to his recent fight with the Hunter, his was also sporting some fresh claw marks, the older ones having become enflamed due to lack of treatment. Again, the doctor within her kicked in as she found herself genuinely fascinated that his body was trying to heal, but now was not the time to examine him. If they wanted to survive, they had to find shelter, and fast.

Sighing, she positioned her body so it was parallel with his and grabbed a hold of his arm to sling it over her shoulder. A pained whimper was the response she got, and she felt his body cringe against hers, likely caused by the pain in his ribs.

"I know. Come on. There might be a safehouse nearby." She urged him up. "Come on."

With a little more coaxing, he managed to push himself to his feet. The moment he was standing, though, he gently pushed her off him, using the boulder as support as he fought to compose himself through the pain racking his body. It didn't help that he could feel her staring him down.

"Do you need help?" she asked.

He shook his head, eyes squeezing shut beneath his hood, but he was almost one hundred percent sure she could see it in his face that he was hurting. Nevertheless, he didn't accept her help. He couldn't afford to look weak. If he could no longer be of use, she would surely leave him if he started to slow her down. Straightening, he forced himself forward, fighting to hide the limp he had as she stared after him.

Nevaeh frowned as she watched him. It was obvious he was hurting, so why wasn't he accepting her help? His condition only worsened as they trekked on, the limp he was trying to hide from her gradually turning into a stagger, but he did not stop nor ask for a rest even when she had offered for them to take a break. Then at last, she spotted it. A small light in the far but near distance, barely visible through the trees. Another five minutes, and they would be there. However, it was at that moment, naturally, that Ajax's overworked body finally gave out on him. She turned about sharply when she heard a dull thud in the leaves, and her eyes widened when she saw him laying on his side on the ground. She quickly knelt beside him, touching his shoulder lightly.

"Ajax?" Reaching down, she checked his pulse. It was a little fast for her liking, but not alarmingly so. She guessed the pain had just finally done him in, but they couldn't stop now. They were so close. "Hey, I can see the safehouse. Look."

She pointed, but he made no move to look in that direction. At that moment, it was an effort just to lift his head. The second his body had hit the ground, every last ounce of strength had left him, leaving his every fiber feeling like solid lead. Every inch of him ached, his ribs throbbing and his wounds flaring with red hot pain, and he was extremely lightheaded. He barely registered Nevaeh shaking his shoulder in attempt to rise some sort of reaction from him, but try as he might he simply couldn't will forth the energy to move.

"Ajax, come on, we need to keep moving," she persisted. "We can't stay here."

He knew that if he didn't move soon, she would leave him and move on. She couldn't carry him, that was for sure. Not that she would. He was spent.

His eyes closed. This was it. It was over. If he was lucky, he would die there, but if he did it would be slow. His wounds weren't severe enough. If anything, he would die a slow death from infection. Eyes cracking open, they randomly fell on the gun hanging at Nevaeh's hip. It was a cryptic idea, but it was the preferred outcome over being left there by himself. Summoning forward the last bit of strength he had, he reached forward weakly, barely managing to brush his fingers over the weapon.

Lips tugging into a frown, Nevaeh looked down at his hand. It was when she saw what he was motioning to, and the somber look on his face, that it hit her what exactly he wanted her to do. Her eyes snapped back to his face, eyes slightly widened. It was a depressingly dark request, and she realized how much pain he must have been in to ask such a thing of her. It was clear he didn't think he could carry on, and that he would rather die than be left there by himself. It was bizarre. She barely knew him, having only been travelling with him for a few short days, and yet it felt wrong shooting him in the head. He was a Hunter. He was infected—but he was also so human. Despite her occasional caution of him, he had never given her any reason to fear him. It was always an intimidating and sometimes terrifying sight when he tore into other infected, but that had been to protect both her and himself. Her mind travelled back to the way he had put himself over her when that Hunter had been stalking them, using his own body as a shield to protect her from being pounced. She should have been terrified to have something as dangerous as him so close to her, but it had been quite the contrary, his presence looming over instead bringing her a reassuring security. He didn't know her any better than she knew him, and yet he had put himself right in the line of fire without hesitation multiple times to ensure she remained safe. It didn't make any sense.

Staring down at him, she slowly shook her head. "No."

She watched his face tense, probably in a mixture of pain and hopelessness. It was a pitiful sight. She shook her head again, eyes sad as she gazed down at him. Poor thing. Lifting her hand, she reached down and gently stroked his side, careful of his ribs as she emitted a calming "shhhh", watching his face tense once more.

"It's okay," she whispered. She continued to rub his back slowly, speaking to him in a soft, soothing voice. "Listen to me. You are not going to die. Not here. You're going to get up. You're going to keep fighting. The safehouse is right there. You can make it." She ran her hand over his head when she heard him release the smallest of sniffs. "You can make it, Ajax. Come on. Get up, hun. Up."

Her voice had a strange effect on him. Just as he thought he had lost all of his strength, it was returning to him in small bits with her soft voice, coaxing him into motion. First he pressed his hands against the ground, head lifting heavily, and his shoulder blades flexed when he tried pushing himself up. It was a struggle, the fatigue caused by the infection plaguing his wounds sucking most of his strength straight from him. He felt a presence beside him, and he looked up as Nevaeh positioned herself at his side once more. With her support, he was finally able to push himself to his feet, leaning most of his weight against her as he fought the dizziness overtaking his vision.

He didn't know what to think as she started leading him towards the safehouse, allowing him to lean into her as they walked. He had given her the option to shoot him and leave him there, but she had said no. Was is because she was that desperate for his help? He couldn't think of any other reason aside from the obvious, but that hardly seemed realistic. Either way, she hadn't left him behind. He was still alive—once again, thanks to her—and for that he was in her debt. Whether it be genuine or forced, she had been the only one so far to show him kindness, so if that meant serving as her personal guard dog, then he would do his damned best to kill anything that so much as looked at her wrong.

* * *

 **So, I'm trying to build up the bond between Ajax and Nevaeh before introducing the other survivors into the story, but they should be coming along within the next couple of chapters or so, for those that might be wondering.**


	4. Pain

**AddictedDucky: It's not dead! :) Sorry for the wait.**

 **ammiranny: Glad to hear you're enjoying the story so far :)**

 **Shadowclone076 Reborn: Ajax's situation will be explained in later chapters, but that won't be for awhile yet :)**

* * *

 **Chapter #4: Pain**

* * *

To say Ajax was in pain would have been the understatement of the century. It had taken nearly all of Nevaeh's muscle strength to haul the nearly collapsed Hunter into the saferoom, having been leaning most of his weight on her. The second his feet crossed the threshold he was stumbling over. Because it was so sudden, and he was much heavier than her, she lost her grip on him, and he landed with a thud on the wooden floor. Cursing under her breath, she made quick work of locking the door before rushing over to her fallen counterpart, dropping to her knees beside him.

"Come on." Gently but firmly, she coaxed him up. "Come on. There's a bed in the other room. It's going to be a hell of a lot more comfortable than the floor."

He barely felt the strength to lift his head, and yet, by some miracle, he managed to will forth just enough strength to push himself back up, every movement he made containing a painstaking amount of effort. When he felt the bed beneath him, he all but collapsed onto it, every last nerve in his body pulsating with pain. Barely clinging to consciousness, he hardly processed the sound of Nevaeh rummaging through her bag beside him. It was only when he felt her lift his head that he willed his eyes to crack open, and he was presented with the sight of a water canteen.

"Drink."

It wasn't until he felt the water hit his tongue that he realized just how thirsty he was, drinking in large, greedy gulps.

"Slow down." She pulled the canteen away just enough to force him to slow his parched chugging. "You're going to make yourself sick. Drink slow."

She didn't set the canteen aside until he'd emptied it of its last drop, gently setting his head back down on the pillow. He barely moved as she rummaged through her bag, and she pulled out a pair of surgical scissors, which she used to begin removing the tape from his sleeves. This urged some type of reaction from him, but nothing more than a small sound of protest. Despite his weak protesting, she was able to get the tape off without much trouble. However, when she went to pull the tattered hoodie over his head, he was suddenly regaining the strength to fight against her.

"Ajax, I need to get at your wounds. I can't do that if you're wearing your clothes."

But he wasn't relenting, keeping a firm, stubborn grip on the bottom hem of his hoodie so she couldn't push it up. Nevaeh sighed.

"Why won't you let me see?"

She knew she wouldn't get a verbal answer from him, but the look of shame bleeding through what she could see of his face was answer enough. As it clicked in her head what he was afraid of, she felt her heart softening, realizing he was probably ashamed of the physical alterations the infection had done to his appearance.

"It's only going to get worse if you don't let me see," she said. "I'm not here to judge you."

Still, he did not budge. Another sigh left her lips. "Well, I'm going to tend to your wounds one way or another. Do I have to knock you out to do so?"

At last, he looked up at her, frowning, and she could see his eyes at this angle. To say he looked he looked reluctant would have been a blatant understatement. Miserable would be a more appropriate description.

"I know your eyes are sensitive to light, so you can keep it over your eyes, but I need your arms and torso free." Again, she attempted to gently remove his hands. "Come on. Let me see." Finally, with a little more coaxing, he reluctantly relinquished his hold, and she was able to lift the hooded sweatshirt over his head, not missing how he didn't allow her to lift it off his face.

He was pale, but not sickly so, and he had a strong build, which was typical for Hunters from what she had noticed. What caught her attention the most, however, was the lack of welts and tumors. His skin was completely free of the tumor-like bulges that covered the bodies of other infected. The only marks he had were tiny to medium-sized lacerations that riddled his body, some newer than others, and some had already turned into scars, marking the pale flesh like macabre merit badges. Along his side was the worst of them, a set of deep, red claw marks that were still raw and bleeding from their earlier skirmish. The injuries sustained from his earlier scraps with Hunters whilst protecting her remained as well, but they had begun to fester from lack of treatment and were now enflamed and probably throbbing. _Amazing,_ she thought. _His body is fighting against infection._ And they were all over. She couldn't even imagine how he had been dealing with the pain all this time. She was sure it must be tremendous.

"Jesus, Ajax, you're a mess..." She took notice how he tensed at her words. "I mean, you must be in so much pain. Why didn't you try telling me?"

Not looking at her, he shrugged, muscles in his back flexing with the motion. It hit her, with great guilt, that he probably hadn't told her, because he had thought she wouldn't care—or that she would ditch him because he was slowing her down. She resisted the urge to shake her head. _Poor thing..._

"Ajax, from now on if you feel there's something wrong, I want you to tell me. Understand?"

He looked up at her from beneath his hood, before looking back down with a meek nod. Hardly satisfied, for she knew he would probably still hide any illness or injury from her in the future, she pulled out a bottle of disinfectant and swabs from her bag.

"What do you say we get the worst out of the way first?"

He hardly appeared enthusiastic, but he made no move to resist, and so she proceeded. Wetting one of the swabs, she moved towards the painful-looking claw marks on his side.

"I'm not going to lie, this is going to hurt. Deep breaths. Ready?"

Having buried his face in his arm, he nodded, and she pressed the swab to the wound as gently as she could. As expected, his entire body tensed up, muscles going rigid as he seized the blankets in a death grip. It only grew worse before it got better when she started to wipe, and a distressed noise forced its way from his throat.

"I know," she said quietly. "I know it hurts. Just try to breathe. I'm almost done."

His grip gradually tightened on the bed sheets as she worked, eyes squeezed shut against the pain searing through his side like fire. The disinfectant burned horribly, seeping into the gashes like acid and further irritating the throbbing nerves. Within two minutes, his breathing had drawn to an almost erratic state, teeth ready to break under the force, but it was just as he was reaching his limit that he felt the swab lift away, and a hand pressed to his back in soothing circles.

"Okay, okay," Nevaeh's soft voice reached his ears. "Small break. Breathe, Ajax."

Although he tried, he found it difficult to take his mind off the agony burning through his side, and he had to resist the urge to reach back and press his hand against the wounds in a desperate attempt to relieve the raging nerves.

"These are going to need stitches," said Nevaeh quietly, almost apologetically. "Ready?"

No, he wasn't, but he knew the longer they delayed the longer he would have to endure the pain. So, he nodded, body tensing in preparation for the pain to resume. When he felt the needle pierce his flesh, it took everything in him not to pull away, instead resorting to constricting the pillow he was currently holding captive.

"Almost done. Good job, Ajax."

It felt like hours as she stitched him up, the pain only growing worse as time went on. When she had finally lifted the needle away completely, he was almost unwilling to let himself hope it was over, but then he felt the soothing hand return to his back, as she rubbed slow, widespread circles. His back was the only place free of any painful injury, save for a small cut on his upper right shoulder blade, so it felt good, helping take his mind off the agonizingly slow decrease of the throbbing in his side. His body heaved with each labored breath as he recovered, completely exhausted, but the pain kept him from falling into a tempting sleep. She had waited until he'd calmed down before resuming treating his wounds. It still hurt as she cleaned the other cuts and scrapes littering his body, but the pain was dull in comparison to what he'd just gone through. At one point, he had felt her hand on his head, followed by a pleasant, massaging sensation and her soft voice.

"You still with me?"

A small nod was all he had been able to summon the strength to provide, but she didn't push him for a more detailed response. At long last, what felt like hours later she finally allowed him to slip his arms back into the sleeves of his hoodie, and he tugged it back down over his bruised and scarred body. Finally free, he instantly rolled onto his side, curling into himself facing away from her. Behind him, he could hear her ruffling through her bag once more, feeling a shift in the mattress as she leaned back against a couple pillows. He didn't have to look to know she was writing, hearing the scratching of a pen against paper. It occurred to him she was likely writing a diagnosis or detailed description of his physical condition. He was, after all, a freak of nature. He knew that.

Despite how tired he was, he simply couldn't find sleep, his overloading mind and the throb that seemed to pulsate through every inch of his body preventing him from reaching any point of relief. Behind him, he could still hear Nevaeh writing in her journal. Before long, with nothing to distract him, his mind fell into a downward spiral once more without his control as he stared at his hand, grimly noting the claws that tipped his fingers.

He was a monster. A Grade A freak of nature. No one would ever see him as a normal person again. Hell, he was barely a person. He couldn't even try talking without sounding like something from a nightmare. Before he realized it, depression had taken over his spirit yet again, squeezing his eyes shut when they began to sting. He wasn't able to fight it for long, though, his exhausted body breaking under the pressure. When a single tear managed slip out from beneath his eyelid, he pressed his lips together in a desperate attempt to maintain control. No. Not now. Not in front of her.

But it was a futile effort, the pressure constricting his chest growing out of control, and a single, quiet sob forced its way from his lips.

Nevaeh looked up at the sound, pausing when she looked down and saw how tense he was. "Ajax?"

He didn't answer. He couldn't.

His silence caused Nevaeh to frown a little, eyebrows drawing together. Setting her journal aside, she leaned over to get a look at his face. Quickly, he turned his head so she couldn't see his face, the hood hiding his tear-streaked cheeks from her view.

"Hey." Placing her hand on his shoulder, she reached down and gently tugged aside his hood—only to stop when she realized he was crying. Her lips parted slightly. "Ajax, what is it? What's wrong?"

He lifted his arm to roughly rub his eyes, refusing to look at her.

"Does it hurt?"

He shook his head.

Nevaeh was quiet, watching him with concerned green orbs. Something was very wrong. Before she knew it, she felt her heart softening for him. She didn't know anything about him. He was infected. He was a Hunter—but he was so human. He _was_ human. It had come to her realization that he likely didn't feel like a person, the infection having stripped him of all his human rights. If anyone saw him, they would try shooting him. Hell, she had. Recalling her cold treatment towards him the night she had allowed him into the safehouse with her, she winced. If he had been a regular human man, she probably wouldn't have been so harsh. She felt her stomach twist with guilt as it hit her how prejudice she had been towards him, when all he had done is protect her from the start. He was alone in this world. That had to wear down on a person. It had on her.

Her eyes fell. Shifting so she was leaned back against the headboard, using the pillows as a back support, she leaned over and placed her hand on his shoulder. "Hey." Rubbing his arm, she watched as he looked over his shoulder at her in question. "Come here."

He frowned a little, seeming to hesitate, but with a bit more gentle coaxing he slowly rolled over, and she pulled him towards her. He didn't know what to think as she guided him to lay against her, his stomach pressing into her side, but what baffled him the most was when she allowed him to rest his head down just below her breasts. For the first few moments he remained tensed, not at all knowing what to make of the situation, or if he should allow himself to relax. However, when all she did was hold him gently, her hand slowly rubbing up and down his arm, the rigidness in his muscles began to ease up.

"It's okay," she uttered softly.

Finally, he let himself relax, and within seconds he had melted against her, the warmth of her body against his feeling foreign after so many weeks of feeling nothing but fear, cold, and loneliness. Without realizing it, he had moved his arm around her, hugging her torso as his cheek pressed into her stomach. She did nothing to stop him, and he felt her hand cradle his head, thumb stroking over his cheek with a tenderness that he hadn't experienced in what felt like forever. It was too much.

Nevaeh watched sadly as he fell apart against her. First, she felt his body tense with the telltale signs of holding back tears, and not long after she heard him release a heavily suppressed sob. She felt her heart breaking as she watched him. She could only imagine what he had been dealing with once he had realized what he'd become.

"Shhh..." She wrapped her arms around him snugly, hand still cradling his head. "It's okay, Ajax. It's alright."

More sobs force their way from his body despite his efforts to stifle them, shame burning within him for looking so weak. However, all she did was continue to rub his side soothingly.

"I'm sorry I've been so cold towards you. You didn't deserve it. All that's going to change now, okay?"

He was trying to force back the tears, but to no avail, as she continued to rub his arm in attempt to calm him down.

"Don't cry, sweetheart. You're not alone. I'm here." If anything, his tears seemed to increase in flow at her words, so she just held him, cradling his head against her stomach. "Shhhh... Easy, Ajax. We need to keep quiet, okay? Easy... Deep breaths... deep breaths..."

He tried to do as she said. He really did, but once he had let it out there was no stopping it. Nevaeh merely continued to provide a soothing backrub whilst whispering soft comforts, her warmth encasing his chilled body. When he had finally managed to regain control, and the tears had ceased, he had slowly relaxed against her. He could hear her heartbeat in his ear, relishing her warmth as he rose with her expanding ribcage as she breathed. He had completely melted into her, her fingers gently massaging his head through his hood.

His body felt like led. He couldn't believe the way she was treating him, shocked she would allow such contact from him. Even the pain from his wounds felt dulled, and in result he felt his eyes growing impossibly heavy. For the first time since he could remember, he felt at peace, falling asleep to her gentle touch and heartbeat.

* * *

 **Poor baby. Thoughts? Questions? Drop a comment! :)**


	5. The Journey Begins

**Guest: In due time! I'm excited to introduce those two each other as well.**

 **Shadowclone076 Reborn: Thank you, glad to hear it! Poor Ajax, though. :c**

 **GDeNofa: More bonding moments to come! :) They're becoming fast friends now.**

* * *

 **Chapter #5: The Journey Begins**

* * *

Early the next morning, Ajax awoke to a strange warmth encasing his body. It wasn't for a few minutes that his sleepy brain realized it was Nevaeh's body heat, and he found himself remembering what happened. On top of that, he also realized he hadn't experienced the usual nightmares that plagued his unconscious whenever he fell asleep. Without realizing it, the smallest of smiles made it to his lips as he soaked in the fact she had allowed him to sleep curled against her all night.

It was raining. He could hear the pitter-patter of raindrops hitting the tin roof of the safehouse, creating a sort of lullaby. When he wasn't stuck in it, he found the sound to be quite soothing, and he was so comfortable. Briefly, he wondered if Nevaeh was still asleep, or if she was just waiting for him to wake up. In the end, though, he decided not to risk checking and potentially ending the state of sheer tranquility he was experiencing. She was so warm. He rose slowly with her body as she breathed, arm draped loosely over her stomach. She didn't seem to mind he was basically using her as a body pillow, as he drifted in and out of sleep. Suddenly, he froze when he felt a hand touch the back of his head, and she began to scratch his scalp gently through the fabric of his hood. Relaxing, he leaned his head back into her touch while releasing a small sigh.

"Good morning," murmured Nevaeh. "How are you feeling?"

Lifting his hand, he wobbled it in a so-so manner.

"There should be a town nearby. We can find a car and drive to some better shelter. I need to restock on medical supplies, too."

Although he was hardly enthused by the idea of moving, he knew that if they were going to make a run for town that they should go before noon. Trekking through the woods in the dark was a disaster waiting to happen, even with his enhanced vision. Nevaeh didn't have this, so she was at an even higher risk.

So, with great reluctance, he forced himself up, every movement heavy. God, he was sore. It seemed that the swabbing and disinfectant had helped, however, because at least his wounds weren't flaring anymore. For now, the pain was bearable. He just hoped he didn't have to get in anymore fights anytime soon. A grimace made its way to his face as he managed to stand, the claw marks on his side still tender. If he moved a certain way, it caused the stitches to tug. He'd have to watch out for that.

Nevaeh sat up. "Hey." Reaching over, she tugged at the hem of his hoodie. "Sit down. We're not moving out just yet. Rest while you can."

Looking down at her, he glanced to the floor before sitting back down on the bed. Nevaeh dug through her bag, pulling out a water bottle and two granola bars. When she handed one to him, however, he just shook his head.

"You have to eat if you want to heal," she warned. Again, she offered the bar. "Take it."

Ajax looked down at the offered food before finally accepting it from her hand, knowing she was right. He didn't eat much even when he was hungry, but he wasn't just looking out for himself anymore. He was looking out for Nevaeh, too, and that meant he had to be at the top of his game. However, when Nevaeh offered him a sip from the water bottle, he had refused, shaking his head. It was too risky. Even he knew there was a risk of her getting infected.

Nevaeh appeared to sense the root cause of his hesitation, for she shook her head. "I won't get infected. I'm immune."

He tilted his head at her, snorting at her as if to ask "how do you know?"

Setting the bottle down in her lap, she rolled up her sleeve and held her arm up for him to see. His eyes widened when he saw the healed bite mark.

"Guess it's a good thing I didn't kill myself, because I never turned." She tugged her sleeve back down before tossing the water at him. "Drink. Infected or not, you're alive, and that means you need to stay hydrated."

Holding her stare for another moment, he looked down at the canteen. Then, finally, he unscrewed the cap and took a small sip, looking back up at Nevaeh as she slipped off the bed and walked towards the door to take a glance at how many infected were milling around outside. He could tell just by sniffing the air that there weren't more than a dozen, and there were no others like him nearby, either. Hopefully, it would stay that way for awhile. The very last thing he wanted was to get hit in his stitches. Just the thought caused him to flinch in pain.

"We should get going while the going's good," said Nevaeh, her voice startling him from his thoughts. Looking back at him, she gave him a brief onceover. "You good to go, or do you need to rest?"

Shaking his head, he stood. He made sure to keep his posture as straight as possible, knowing that if she sensed he was in pain she would insist upon waiting. Without realizing it, the thought warmed his core, but he didn't smile.

* * *

Town had been only three or so miles from them, and despite Ajax's reluctance to venture in that direction, Nevaeh had insisted upon it, claiming they needed to go there in order to search for a vehicle. Being what he was, he didn't think about things like weapons, bullets, and bottled water often anymore, but she wasn't like him. She wasn't infected, and she didn't possess the enhanced strength, endurance, and speed that he did, so she needed that kind of protection. She also required more food than he did. He barely ate anymore. Every time he tried eating, flashbacks of the blood and flesh he threw up drew up the strong urge to vomit, completely ruining his appetite.

Shivering, he shook the thoughts from his mind and refocused his attention on their surroundings, sniffing the air for any sign of danger. A low growl emitted from deep within his throat when he picked up the scent of common infected, but so far he detected no bigger threat.

"What is it?"

He looked to Nevaeh and paused. Crap. Looking off to the side, he huffed. They really needed to figure out a method of communication. It turned out her mind was roaming down the same path.

"We need to distinguish what different sounds mean with you," she said. "I'm assuming those screeches are only when there's immediate danger? You've only done it when you had to get my attention right away."

He nodded, the action slow and thoughtful. She was right, he realized.

"Okay, so screeching is for immediate, critical danger."

She continued walking, and he followed, watching the few infected that milled about in a dormant state. One false move, however, and they would be alerted to their presence. He growled low in his throat again when a couple of them started towards them, but with two clean twirls from Nevaeh's sword they were rendered harmless.

"So that low growl is for commons." She wiped her blade on the fallen zombies' clothing. "Duly noted." Looking back at him, she sheathed her sword and continued on her way. "It's not like we have anything else to do other than talk. We should make our communication as detailed as possible. Think you can work out specific sounds for each type of infected?"

Glancing down, he thought about it, and then nodded slowly. This was going to take some practice. Unfortunately, they didn't have a lot of time for practice. Once false move on his part, and she was dead. Christ, he was already stressed.

"Hey."

He looked to her.

"Why don't you go check out that truck? I'm gonna go grab that metal bat." She pointed to the bat laying across the street. Glancing towards the truck, he nodded and began walking towards it.

It was as Nevaeh was picking up the bat that she was alerted to what sounded like an aggravated grumble, and she looked up to see Ajax struggling with the door of the truck. Her shoulders fell whilst shaking her head with a softened smile. His head lifted when he heard her approaching, and she walked around to his side.

"Like this." She showed him, pressing down on the button behind the handle before pulling it back, and then shutting the door again. It took him a couple tries, but he eventually got it; though, he looked nothing short of degraded. Nevaeh just gave his back a gentle pat. "The infection screws up motor skills. It's not your fault."

He climbed into the passenger's side without responding. It was clear he was sore about needing help. _He may be a Hunter, but he's still such a man,_ she thought amusedly.

* * *

Before long, the buildings started to spread out more as they drove further and further from town. Nevaeh hadn't seen many infected for a few miles now, only a couple stragglers here and there. For the first time in about ten minutes, she looked over at Ajax. He had tensed up the moment she'd pressed her foot to the gas pedal. Like a cat, he didn't like moving unless it was his own two feet doing the work.

"Hey." Keeping her eyes on the road, she reached over and gave his back a light pat, causing him to jump. "Relax."

A sound similar to a grumble was the response she received, and she chuckled quietly. She eyed the houses as she drove passed, considered them closely. Then finally, she drew to a slow stop when she came across a house with boarded up windows. Talk about luck, and she didn't see any other cars in the driveway. The previous owners had likely decided it was wiser to move on. At least, she hoped that was the case. The last thing they needed was a shootout.

Ajax immediately hopped out of the car when she slowed to a complete stop, taking a moment to pause and sniff the air as she started towards the front steps. The front door was unlocked, so she pushed it open cautiously and stuck her head in.

"Hello?" she called. "Is anyone in here?"

When she received no answer, she took a careful step inside. The house was empty as far as she could tell, but when she went to move forward and investigate, a hand on her arm stopped her. Looking up at Ajax, she saw he was rigid and alert, eyes scanning the perimeter from beneath his hood. After a moment, he made motion with his hand as if to say "stay here", and she didn't argue, doing as instructed. She watched as he took a cautious step forward, sniffing the air carefully. Then, he was crouching down and springing upwards, landing on the railing above with a single leap.

"Hey, take it easy," she reminded.

He gave the air another concentrated whiff, and then he was hopping down from the railing and disappearing down the hall. After a few minutes, he reappeared, trudging down the stairs and turning into another room. Nevaeh trailed after him into the living room, and her attention veered towards the mantle over the fireplace. Framed photos lined the polished wood, faces young and old smiling back at her. She'd always wanted a family of her own, but it was unlikely she would ever get one now that close to the entire population was dead. Now that her fiancé was gone, it felt out of her reach.

Her eyes closed at the unwelcomed thoughts, pushing them from her mind immediately. Because she was focusing on clearing her mind, she didn't notice Ajax had reentered the room. He had stopped to watch her from the doorway, frowning at the pain etched into her features. Whatever she was thinking about, it obviously wasn't happy, and he didn't have a clue how to help. Perhaps showing her what he found would. He made a small noise to get her attention, watching as she turned her head to him, and he nodded over his shoulder. She seemed to get the gist, because she turned to follow him.

Leading her down to the basement, he pointed to the generator the lye in the corner, and he felt pride swell in his chest when he saw her eyes light up. Immediately, she went to investigate, and after some tinkering it came to life, and a rewarding smile broke out across her face.

"Way to go, Ajax!"

A smile finally made its way to his face at her excitement, only for it to falter when she suddenly rushed past him and jogged back up the stairs. When he found her, she was in the kitchen, the smile threatening to split her face in two as she held her hand under the faucet.

"Ha! I can't believe it! Jackpot!" Turning the sink off, she looked at him. "Did you see a bathroom anywhere?"

He pointed up. Before he could blink, she was scaling the stairs. Still sore, he opted to plop down on one of the couches rather than follow her, not wanting to strain his wounds anymore than necessary. He wasn't sure how long she was gone. Fifteen minutes, maybe? His acute sense of hearing could pick up the sound of running water, so he assumed she was taking a shower. When he heard the water stop, it was about three minutes later that she came back downstairs, but he frowned upon seeing she looked no different than before. If she hadn't been taking a shower, what had she been doing?

"Come on, gimpy."

He frowned unappreciatively at the name choice, and his response was to snort at her. She just smirked.

" _Come on_ ," she persisted.

Although he hardly wanted to move, he dragged himself off the couch and followed her upstairs—only to stop short when he saw the full tub of clean water.

"We hit the jackpot with this place." Nevaeh tested the soapy water with her hand. "This will be good for your wounds."

When she received no response, she looked up to see he was staring straight at her with a look that practically screamed "I don't think so". Before she could stop herself, she was rolling her eyes.

"You're taking a bath."

Grimacing, he shook his head.

"Oh, stop. We were all born naked."

Still, he didn't make any move to follow her orders. Turning, he sat down on the counter in defiance and folded his arms over his chest as if to make his point, but it only caused her to roll her eyes again at the childish display of refusal.

"Ajax, I was going to be a doctor, remember? I've seen plenty of body types... not to mention penises. To me, they're like an arm or a leg."

His eyes widened beneath his hood at her words, which were visible with the lighting, cheeks having grown a distinct tint. She just smirked.

"I'll leave the room until you're in the water, but you better be in that tub when I get back. I need to clean those wounds." Standing, she walked back towards the door. "I mean it. Don't make this harder than it has to be. Here, I'll dim the lights so they don't bother your eyes." Reaching for the dial beside the door, she turned it until the lights were dimmed down to a gentle glow. With that, she was stepping out and shutting the door behind her.

Ajax was left staring at the door stupidly, his expression troubled. This new predicament was not something he had been prepared for. He'd felt overly exposed with just his hoodie off. Never mind his pants. Deep down, he knew he probably didn't need to feel such anxiety around her, and not just because she was a doctor, but that didn't mean he wanted to strip down in front of her, either. He couldn't even remember the last time he'd taken a bath. It was probably for the best, but he didn't want her in there with him. Awkward didn't even begin to describe it, but he knew she was the only one who could treat his wounds, and he needed to let her if he didn't want to get a serious infection.

The thought earned a snort of disdain before he could stop it. He was infected, and he was worried about infection. If that wasn't the definition of irony, he didn't know what was.

It was about ten minutes later that Nevaeh came back to the door, and she gave the wood a quiet knock. "Can I come in?"

As expected, she received no answer.

"Ajax, either answer me, or I'm coming in."

No answer. For a second, she wondered if he was even in the room, or if he'd gone as far as to hide. Cautiously, she turned the handle, giving him plenty of opportunity to stop her as she pushed it open. Surprisingly enough, he was in the tub. The sight was a bit shocking at first, still not used to seeing him without the hoodie. It was strange. The hoodie was a trademark of all Hunters, and without it he looked no different from your average twenty-something-year-old male—minus the scars.

It didn't escape her attention how he was making a point not to look at her, head turned towards the wall. For some reason, she felt her heart warming for him as she came to kneel beside the tub, and she folded her arms on the side.

"Look at me," she commanded gently.

For the first few moments he refused, but she remained patient, and after another minute or so she saw his eyes fall, and he turned his head to her hesitantly. The look of shame on his face melted her heart, and she smiled at him softly. Lifting her hand, she gave his bangs a gentle tug.

"You need a trim, or your hair is going to start falling in your eyes."

Tentatively, his eyes lifted up to her face, and he was taken aback by the good-natured smile adorning her features. She just gave his chin a gentle nick.

"Ajax, relax. Honestly."

He'd looked down at the water again, unable to hold her stare for more than a few seconds. Because he wasn't looking at her, he jumped when she poured water over his head, sputtering as she laughed quietly.

"You're like a cat."

He'd begun to whine as she used a facecloth to clean off some dried blood from his neck.

"Oh stop, you baby."

He jumped again when she squirted some shampoo onto his head, its cold, gooey texture causing a shiver to travel up his spine. However, when she started scrubbing his scalp, it was as if she'd flipped a switch. Within seconds, he was relaxing, muscles loosening up, and she noticed he was making a low sound similar to purring. She snorted.

"You're so human but so feline."

Whether or not he had heard her, she wasn't sure. His head was bowed, eyes closed and relaxed as she continued to wash his hair. It felt amazing, her fingers and nails massaging his itchy scalp. The sensation was intoxicating.

It took a few washes and rinses before she was satisfied, and once that was done she began to check his wounds. The claw marks on his side were already healing, but they were still red and slightly swollen. Hopefully, the swelling would go down soon with proper treatment. Once she was content with her work, she left the room to let him finish his bath, and she took his clothes with her to throw them in the wash. When she returned, he'd dried himself off and wrapped a towel around his waist. He glanced at her fleetingly before grabbing the spare towel off the rack, and she set his clean clothes down on the counter while he was drying his hair. Passing, she ruffled his hair through the towel, earning a noise from him as he blindly swatted at her. It only caused her to chuckle.

When he pulled the towel off, she handed him his clean hoodie and pants. "We're going to have to find you some new clothes. I found you some new pants similar to the ones you had before, but I couldn't find a hoodie, so I salvaged some thread and stitched yours up."

Feeling the fabric between his fingers, he pulled the black Levi cargo pants on, buttoned, and zipped them. Immediately after, he quickly pulled on his hoodie, relieved to have it back, and pulled the hood up. Despite being happy to be clean and fully clothed again, his mood was clearly soured.

"Oh, stop pouting," said Nevaeh. "At least you smell human now."

He stuck his tongue out at her, and she laughed. She took the liberty of giving him a trim, for his dark hair had started getting in his eyes. When she was done, she brushed out the loose hairs and pulled his hood back up, throwing the hair-covered towel into the sink.

"All right, get out. It's my turn."

Turning, he headed for the door.

"Unless you want to help me."

He stopped so abruptly that he nearly tripped over the threshold, and her laughter rang through the bathroom. Turning his head over his shoulder, he sent her a withering glare, and then he was throwing the door shut behind him. Smartass. The sound of her giggling followed him all the way down the hall.

* * *

When Nevaeh emerged from the bathroom roughly an hour later, she found Ajax standing watch at a window in one of the bedrooms. He was perched on a built-in window seat, and as she drew closer she saw his eyelids were very heavy, barely glancing at her as she came to sit beside him.

"Let me check your injuries real quick."

He let her roll up his hoodie, staying still as she checked his stitches. He was too tired to argue with her.

"Okay, come on, hopper. You look about ready to check out."

He didn't move, falling asleep on the spot. Taking hold of his shoulders, she coaxed him up with a gentle firmness.

"Come on."

Finally, she managed to urge him up, his movements heavy as he followed her to the bed.

"Take your shoes off," she directed quietly.

He did as instructed, kicking them off and climbing into bed. He was barely conscious as she pulled the covers over him, and he could feel her hand rubbing his back briefly.

"Get some rest."

Though, he was already half asleep, he was stirred from a very tempting slumber when he felt her presence leave his side. His head lifted when he heard the door shut with a quiet click, and a frown tugged at the corners of his mouth.

* * *

Nevaeh crawled into her bed of choice with a sigh and pulled the thick covers over herself, shivering with pleasure. God, it was good to be back in a bed again. The blankets were heavy and warm, cocooning her snugly. Within minutes, she had fallen into a deep sleep.

* * *

 **Sorry for the long wait! Hope you enjoy. :)**


	6. Trust

**Storm:** Ajax had decided at this point that keeping Nevaeh safe is his new and sole purpose in life. Before her, he had nothing, so he's willing to go to great lengths to protect her, despite barely knowing her. This might get in the way a bit when they run into the other survivors (I'm sure you can guess who he'd clash with).

 **GDeNofa:** Glad you liked it! They're going to become fast friends now.

* * *

 **Chapter #6: Trust**

* * *

Nevaeh vaguely registered the strange warmth surrounding her when she began drifting towards hazy consciousness, the weight pressed against her back and on her side only further confusing her groggy brain. Slowly, as her foggy mind cleared, she dazedly looked over her shoulder—only to freeze when she saw Ajax was beside her.

The sleeping Hunter had curled himself up next to her, head rested on her side like a dog. His form slowly rose up and down as he breathed, the slow, shallow pattern of his breaths telling her he was still in a deep sleep. At first, all she could do was stare. Part of her instinctively told her to shove him off, but she managed to stop herself. He was so strange. He walked and talked like a Hunter, but his personality was so human. However, at the same time, he was a lot like a dog. It was bizarre. Maybe it was just because he knew he could get away with it. He appeared to hold regular human intelligence—his problem solving skills and ability to register different situations proved that—yet he seemed to have a vaguely underdeveloped sense of personal boundaries.

 _You're being ridiculous,_ her mind chided her. _God knows what he went through before you found him. He's probably just relieved for the human contact._

She remembered the night in the safehouse when he had all but shattered to pieces after she'd taken him in her arms. She could feel her heart splintering at just the thought of it. He was human in every aspect, save for his altered DNA, but he had been treated like a bloodthirsty monster by everyone he'd come across, despite his obvious intelligence. God knew what kind of terrors he went through when those men had him tied. It was something she didn't want to think about.

Looking down at him once more, she lifted her arm and softly lowered her hand down on his head, careful not to wake him as she massaged his head through his hood. A sigh of content left him in his sleep, seeming to shift closer to her at her touch.

 _He's all you've got. You're all he's got._

On the condition they had nowhere to be, she decided to let him sleep. He wasn't dangerous.

 _He could still snap. You never know. He_ is _infected._

She shook her head. All humans were dangerous, infection or not, and, so far, he hadn't given her a single reason to fear him. He had nearly died more than once already trying to protect her. That earned him a chance in her book. Besides, it was nice to have company for a change.

* * *

Ajax sniffed the air intently, eyes scanning slowly over the area from his perch. He'd awoken to find Nevaeh had left the bed, and it had taken some courage to go find her. When he found her, she was raiding the medicine cabinet in the bathroom and stuffing the supplies in her pack. He'd tensed a little when she glanced towards him; however, she merely greeted him with a casual "good morning". After redressing his wounds, they'd set out on a run to the next town over.

"Ajax."

He looked down at her, and he nodded over her shoulder. "I'm going to make a run into that convenient store." She pointed with her sword towards the building across the street. "You'd have a good vintage point from there." She pointed to the building directly across from it. "Can you give a screech if you hear or see anything?"

Again, he nodded, but it was reluctant. He didn't much favor the idea of her going inside alone. There was no telling what might be hiding around every corner, but he had no way of conveying his concerns to her.

"I'll be okay."

He looked down at her, surprised.

The smallest of smiles was tugging at her lips. "You'd smell a serious threat this close anyway, right?"

 _Most of the time,_ he thought grimly.

"I'll be okay," she insisted. "A good lookout is more important if there's something like a Tank nearby. I need to know about that before it's right on top of me."

She had a point, but that didn't mean he was anymore keen on leaving her side. However, he didn't want to come off as clingy, so he did as she requested and made his way over to the building she was referring to. His movements were heavy as he hauled himself up onto the roof, his movements limited and less polished due to the stitches. Once he had a good vintage point, he looked back to the street to see Nevaeh cautiously entering the building.

* * *

Nevaeh's feet were silent on the tiled floor as she quietly weaved in-between the aisles, throwing items of use into her pack. Gradually, she made her way over to the pharmacy in the back. Before hopping over, however, she gave the counter an experimental tap with the butt of her gun. After giving it a couple minutes, and no infected were drawn to the noise, she hopped the counter and began her search. A collection of antibiotics, bandages, painkillers, and other medical essentials were thrown into her pack, adding a noticeable but necessary weight. She was venturing further into the pharmacy when she turned down one of the aisles, and a large, dark red puddle was staining the carpet.

Blood. And it was fresh. Eyes lifting, she followed the trail of blood leading away from the larger stain, the pattern specific to that of a body being dragged across the floor. Reaching down, she slowly removed her gun from its holster, making extra effort to soften the soft grinding of metal against leather as it withdrew. _This is a bad idea._ Licking her lips, she took a cautious, silent step forward, eyes darting every which way as she made her way down the aisle where the trail of blood took a right turn at the end. As she ventured deeper, the light from the windows began to dissipate, casting an almost ominous shadow over the aisles.

The hold she had on her gun tightened as she neared the end of the aisle once more, the trail taking another right turn, and she paused. Closing her eyes, she took in a deep, calming breath, and then she was peeking around the corner.

A body, now barely recognizable as a human being, lay in a bloodied, gory heap on the floor, the remnants of its blood soaking the carpet around it. The abdomen and throat were ripped open, ragged flesh falling in torn shreds from the wounds. It was a fresh kill, and by the looks of it the attacker had been a Hunter. The claw marks on the victim's skin was the biggest pointer.

It was in there with her.

Before she could so much as contemplate the reality of her situation, a low, rumbling growl froze her blood solid in her veins, body turning to ice. _It's right behind you..._ Her muscles went rigid as the growls grew louder, which she had come to recognize as the biggest warning prior to the pounce. Almost without thinking about it, she dropped down right as the Hunter released a piercing shriek, and her head snapped up as it soared overhead, narrowly missing her. He crashed into one of the shelves, clearly taken aback by her swift dodge, and she took the opportunity to scramble to her feet and tear off in the opposite direction.

He was after her within seconds, his snarls following her at an alarming proximity as she threw things down in her path in attempt to slow him down, but Hunters were fast—agile. It was as she was making a run for the counter that a weight was tackling her to the ground, causing her to release a strangled scream as she fell to the floor with the Hunter on top of her.

The impact had knocked her gun from her hand and out of her reach, the hit to her head leaving her in a slight daze. However, when a pair of blood-stained jaws flashed in her face, her eyes were flying wide as she pushed up against the Hunter's chest and neck, barely keeping those teeth from ripping her face off. His teeth clashed together rapidly as he tried biting her, releasing a deafening screech into her face as he clawed at her with his hands in a ravenous attempt at getting to her. Then without warning, he turned his head, and Nevaeh released a piercing scream of pain as his teeth sunk into her arm. In the same moment, his claws scraped over her left hip, leaving four deep gashes as a result.

All of a sudden, a second screech was ringing through the pharmacy, and she barely registered the Hunter's head snap up seconds before a dark blur was viciously tackling him off her. Ajax had come barreling in from nowhere, attacking the other Hunter with an enraged snarl and earning a startled gasp from Nevaeh. They rolled off to the side in a ferocious tangle of limbs, knocking over a stack of boxes in the process. Bottles tumbled off the shelf and clattered to the floor noisily as they collided with it, and she watched with widened eyes as Ajax fought the other Hunter, face contorted in unadulterated rage; lips pulled back to expose his teeth in an enraged snarl. The other Hunter didn't stand a chance against Ajax's rage, and after a brief but vicious fight that left three shelves knocked over and bottles scattering the floor the enemy Hunter was falling dead with a sickening crack.

However, the danger was far from over. The fight had hardly been quiet, the racking having attracted a small but reasonably sized horde of twelve infected, and as they flooded the market Ajax had turned on them with equal ferocity, leaping over the counter in a single bound. Nevaeh watched with wide eyes as he took them out with expert skill, bounding back and forth with practiced grace. From her spot on the floor, she could only see their heads and Ajax whenever he sprung, blood spurting as he broke skulls and ripped into them mercilessly. She jumped when he grabbed one by the back of the head and slammed its face down on the counter, skull crushing beneath his strength and sending blood and brains gushing over the once white surface. None of the zombies got within ten feet of her.

When the last one had fallen dead, there was a tense silence as he waited rigidly, listening for further threat. Seconds ticked by, and then minutes... Finally, when no other threat came, and the adrenaline began to wear off, the pain caught up with him. Wincing, his guarded stance faltered, slouching as his hand came to press against his side. Turning, he leaned against the counter, features tensed. Then at last, he looked up and over the counter to where Nevaeh still sat on the floor—only to stop when he saw how wide her eyes were.

His could feel his heart sinking into his stomach when he saw how afraid she looked, and it was only then that he realized he was covered in blood, and that the mangled bodies scattered around him resembled an award-winning scene from a horror movie. Looking around him, he realized how rabid he must have appeared. He'd barely registered what he had been doing, flying into a blind rage when he had heard her screams and seen that Hunter on top of her. Eyes falling, he returned his gaze to her once more. Placing his hands on the countertop, he hopped over to her side and promptly dropped down to all fours in attempt to look as nonthreatening as possible. However, he knew he probably just looked like he was getting ready to pounce at her.

When she didn't move, he crawled a tentative inch towards her, emitting a quiet, nonthreatening sound from the back of his throat—only to be wildly taken off guard when she suddenly moved towards him and threw her arms around his neck in a tight embrace. Startled, he stumbled and fell back, barely managing to catch himself with his hands before falling backwards. He blinked stupidly, dumbfounded, but it was only after a moment that he realized she was trembling. Slowly, he brought his arms up, undecidedly placing his hands on her sides. When she didn't push him away, he wrapped his arms around her gently, rumbling softly in his throat. Though, he paused when his nose picked up the smell of blood—human blood. Her blood.

Frowning, he pulled back to look her over, his frown deepening when he saw blood staining her arm and leg. Anger rose within him once again when he realized the Hunter had harmed her, but before he was able to act on it further his body froze.

This didn't go unnoticed by Nevaeh, and she frowned. "Ajax—?" A muffled sound escaped her when his hand abruptly covered her mouth, cutting her off.

Before she could react, he was pushing her into a small space under the counter and grabbing one of the shelves, pulling it over with him and squeezing in behind her. Once wedged under the counter with her, he dragged the shelf up, boxing them in as Nevaeh watched him with wide, vaguely alarmed eyes.

"Ajax, what's hap—"

Again, she was cut off by his hand. Taking the hint, she silenced when he lifted a finger to his lips for silence. Eyes alight with fear, she could only stare up at him, and then she felt it. It started off as the smallest of vibrations—barely noticeable—but then it grew more prominent.

A Tank was headed their way.

First she heard glass shattering as the hulking infected lumbered straight through the partially opened glass doors at the front of the store, its grunts and snorts filling the air as it thudded straight towards the pharmacy.

Nevaeh was unable to keep her body from trembling as it drew nearer and nearer, knowing they had no chance at fighting it in their condition. Her leg was badly hurt, and Ajax had barely been able to fight off that Hunter—never mind a Tank. She must have made some sort of involuntary whimper, because Ajax once again pressed his hand over her mouth, gently this time, but firm enough to stifle her. She felt his hands on her, allowing him to pull her between his legs and hold her against him, but his eyes never left the small crack between the shelf and counter.

Ajax's eyes narrowed, biting back a growl as he listened to the Tank lumber about. If they just stayed quiet, it would eventually move on. Tanks were stupid, clumsy beasts, and, unlike Hunters, their sense of smell and sight wasn't that great, either. It was just a matter of waiting.

He was drawn from his thoughts when he felt a tremble from Nevaeh, and he looked down at her to see she appeared utterly terrified. She'd seized his hoodie in a grip of death, eyes wide and breathing slightly irregular, and she was trembling. There was no doubt in his mind she was still getting over the shock from being attacked by the other Hunter, and her fatigue on top of her inability to fight at the moment likely wasn't helping her panic. Hand still pressed over her mouth, he lifted his free hand and gently placed it on her head.

Nevaeh looked up at him, only to receive a small smile from him. For reasons unknown to her, she felt a little better almost instantly. She watched as he pointed to his chest before placing his hand on the back of her head again. Although unsure what he was getting at, she allowed him to pull her head against his chest. At first she felt a bit awkward, but then it hit her what he was trying to show her. Unlike hers, his heartbeat was evened and normal. He wasn't afraid. He had the situation under control, and he was trying to show her that. For some reason, she found herself amazed by the action.

The moment was shattered when the Tank bumped up against the counter, causing her to jump and release a startled gasp, but Ajax just held her tighter and gave her back a reassuring pat, keeping his hand over her mouth as a precaution. She didn't fight against him, knowing it was for the best.

 _You trust him._

It was a bizarre thought. How had this happened? She was putting her life in the hands of a Hunter—and after just being viciously attacked by one—and trusting him to keep her safe. The irony of it all. Her attention was once again brought to his hand when he started to rub her back in slow, soothing circles. Closing her eyes, she allowed her head to fall against his shoulder, trying to focus on his hand instead of how close they were to the beast on the other side of the counter. Finally, after what felt like hours, she got her heartbeat to go down, when, suddenly, a gunshot cracked through the air in the far distance.

Ajax's head lifted, as did Nevaeh's, both of them tensing when the Tank released a deafening bellow. Glass shattered, and shelves were knocked over as if they weighed nothing, as the hulking infected charged through the store towards the front, thundering off after the sound. As its bellows grew increasingly distant, Nevaeh's eyes closed, and she rested her head against Ajax's shoulder once more as relief washed through her.

"Thank God..."

Ajax cautiously pushed the shelf away, motioning for her to remain put as he silently slipped out from beneath the counter. Pausing only for a moment to listen, he went to investigate, only to stop when he heard more gunshots. His head snapped in that direction, alert, and he sniffed the air, eyes narrowed. After giving the outside of the building a quick but thorough investigation, he turned back to retrieve Nevaeh. He helped her stand, lifting her up and sitting her down on the counter. Upon looking down at her bleeding wounds, he frowned.

"I'll be fine."

He looked back up at her, and she surprised him when she pulled him into another hug.

"Thank you, Ajax."

He shook his head. She didn't have to thank him. He watched as she tried standing, but all it took was one wince, and he was gently pushing her back down. She looked up at him in confusion as he bent over to pick up the pack she had been carrying, shrugging it onto his shoulders. Turning back to her, he stepped forward and picked her up bridal style.

"Ajax, I can—"

He started walking.

"I can walk," she insisted, but he said nothing; just kept walking.

Sighing, she rolled her eyes as he carried her back to the truck. He managed to open door like she had shown him, but he knew driving was out of the question. She would have to. Carefully, he set her down in the driver's seat and shut the door before climbing into the passenger's side. Nevaeh inserted the key into the ignition; though, before starting the truck, she couldn't help but look in the direction the gunfire was coming from. There were people out there. The question was, were they good people? Either way, she was in no shape to be running straight towards a Tank infested shitshow, but it still bothered her, nonetheless. A small noise from Ajax made her turn her head to him, and she could tell by the look on his face that he knew what she was thinking. Slowly, he shook his head. He was right. The risks were too high, and they needed to treat their own wounds.

Sighing, she started the truck and began the journey back to the house. The entire drive was spent in silence, her mind plagued with thoughts of the gunshots. They had finally found other people, and they'd drove off in the opposite direction. It was entirely possible they wouldn't find others ever again.

When she stepped out of the truck, she scoffed when Ajax almost instantly picked her up again, and he proceeded to carry her into the house.

"This feels like a twisted honeymoon," she muttered.

He snorted and rolled his eyes.

Nevaeh made sure the bar was in place across the door before letting Ajax carry her upstairs to the bathroom. He gingerly set her down on the sink counter, careful of the claw marks on her thigh, and she winced a little from the sting.

"Get me the first aid kit from my room, would you?"

He disappeared without a word. It was a couple minutes later Nevaeh found herself biting back a smile when she heard him emit another grumble from her room, realizing he was probably trying to get the backpack open. When he reappeared a minute or so later, he held the kit in his hand. She took it from him and set it down beside her. As she was preparing to swab her arm she noticed the grim expression on his face. He looked nothing short of deflated, not to mention guilty, as he eyed the blood staining her thigh and arm. Now that she thought of it, he had looked like that since being unable to open the car door. He was infected, but he was still human, and he was a man; and, being a man, he probably felt degraded at needing her help with such a simple task.

"Stop it."

He looked up at her.

"With the proper exercises, you'll regain full motor skills in your hands. It's not a big deal."

He hardly appeared convinced. For a long moment she stared at him, and she made a decision. Keeping her eyes locked with his, she pointed to sink next to her.

"Turn the sink on."

He blinked, giving her look as if to ask why.

"Just do it."

Slowly, he approached the sink. Looking down, he gripped the handle and turned on the water, and she squirted some soap into his palm.

"Wash your hands."

He appeared nothing short of confused, but did as she instructed, lathering the soap in his hands until all the blood was off, and rinsed. She shut the sink back off before handing him the swab, and he took it slowly, staring at her with a blank expression. Without a word, she pointed to her arm, and it was then he realized what she wanted him to do. Shocked she would trust him with such a thing, he just stared at her dumbly. What if he hurt her? His concern must have been visible in his face, because she reached for him and pulled him closer by his belt. Still, he hesitated. He hardly trusted himself with opening doors; never mind treating tender wounds.

"You can do it. Just take it slow," she said.

Glancing up at her briefly, he licked his lips, hesitating, but then finally lowered his hand to her arm—only to abruptly whip away when she releases a sharp hiss. However, he was completely thrown off when she started laughing, startling him with the emotional whiplash. He was left starting at her with slightly widened eyes, completely confused, and then it was hitting him that she had faked her pain just to mess with him.

"So jumpy," she chuckled.

He frowned at her deeply, growling low in his throat. _Not funny,_ he wanted to snap at her. Since he couldn't vocalize his displeasure, he settled for flipping her off, but this only received more laughter from her. Reaching for him, she gave his face a light, playful nudge with her knuckles, chuckling softly now.

"Okay, I'm done. Proceed."

He snorted at her, hardly amused, but then he looked back down at her arm. Lifting his free hand, he gently took hold of her wrist, and he took a breath to help him concentrate before carefully putting the swab to the wound once more. Despite her joking around, he knew it was just to try and get him relax, but he also knew it really did hurt. The way her body tensed was proof of that, so he was as gentle as possible. With a great deal of patience, caution, and her instruction, he managed to clean the blood away from her skin with little to no struggle, pressing a sheet of gauze against the gashes when he was done to prevent more blood from escaping. She handed him a roll of gauze, and he carefully wrapped it around her arm, starting out relatively tight like she had instructed, and then loosening up the last few layers. He taped it down, and then he was releasing her as she lifted her arm to inspect his work. After a moment of scrutiny, her eyes lifted back up to him with an affable smile.

"See? Not so hard, right?"

Meeting her eyes, he managed the smallest of smiles, and she smiled back. She treated the claw marks on her leg, stitching up the deepest gash before binding. It impressed him that she was able to stitch her own wound—especially one as painful as this one looked. When she was done, she looked back to him, eyes scanning him over carefully, and he knew she was trying to tell if he needed any medical attention. However, it would have been impossible to tell, for he was covered with blood from the fight, both his and the other infected.

"What about you? Did you get hurt? That was quite the fight."

He shook his head, but she didn't look convinced. She motioned towards him.

"Lift the hoodie."

He rolled his eyes but did as she ordered. Standing, she left some weight off her left leg as she leaned in to inspect him, making him turn around in a slow circle as she pushed the hoodie further up. His stitches were still in place; though, they had pulled a bit, as expected, and bled a little. She didn't see anything other than a couple scratches, which she swabbed with alcohol, but other than that he hadn't gained any new injuries that she could see. Pulling her pants back on, she took his hand in hers, causing him to glance at her face as she inspected his palm, eyes thoughtful.

"You are a strange case, that's for sure." Upon looking up, she discovered he was frowning questioningly. "You have multiple traits specific to the Hunter strain... and yet you lack so many at the same time." She held up his hand. "Your skin is smooth. Close to all the infected I've seen have welts or boils all over their bodies, but your skin is smooth save for a few scars. Then there's the obvious personality difference."

He looked at his hand.

"Not to mention you still have your eyes. Why didn't you claw them out like the others?"

The look he gave her was priceless. No words were needed.

"Doesn't the light bother your eyes, though?"

He shrugged. Sometimes it did, but he wasn't going to claw his eyes out over it. In truth, he didn't fully know why he hadn't. He'd started out like any other Hunter, so why hadn't he done it then? Oh well. He was relieved he hadn't.

"Give me your clothes. You're not sitting or laying on any furniture until they're washed. There should be some spare clothes in your room."

He did as she said silently. He'd remained in his room until she brought him his pants and hoodie back, feeling naked and immensely out of place without them. Again, she'd somehow managed to get most of the blood out, which was miraculous in itself, but even he had to admit she was right. They'd need to find some new clothes soon, and he was running low on duct tape, too.

"Well, I don't know about you, but I'm beat. You should get some rest, too, if you want those wounds to heal faster."

Following her from the bedroom, he watched her as she went back into her room. Little by little, he came to stand in the doorway as she was pulling the covers back, and he just stood there awkwardly. Knowing he probably looked weird, he shuffled awkwardly in his stance. He didn't want to press his luck, knowing it was wrong for him to stay in the same room as her. He simply hadn't been able to help himself the other night. When she had allowed him to sleep beside her, he found he hadn't been plagued with nightmares for the first time since he'd realized what he'd become. However, that wasn't her problem, and he wasn't a baby. Not only that; he had no idea how she felt on the matter, and that wasn't okay, either. Albeit reluctantly, he turned and went to head for his room.

"Ajax?"

He stopped, turning his head back over his shoulder.

Arms folded over her chest, Nevaeh stared at him thoughtfully from where she sat cross-legged on the bed. "Can I ask you a question?"

Blinking, he shook his head slightly with a shrug as if to say "I guess".

"Why did you come into my room last night?"

He tensed. Grimacing, he lowered his head, shamefaced.

"I'm not upset. I'm just asking."

Not looking at her, shoulders back, he shrugged as he stared down the hall. There wasn't much he could communicate without being able to speak, and even if he could he didn't know if he would want to tell her, anyway. Whether she understood or not, it was still embarrassing.

"Ajax, do you suffer from night terrors?"

Again, he froze. He hadn't been expecting that at all. Head falling, he stared down at the carpet silently, face grim. It was all the answer she needed. With softened eyes, Nevaeh beckoned him forward with a finger.

"Come on. It's probably safer with you in the room, anyway."

He stared at her incredulously, in a state of disbelief. She couldn't be serious... When she quirked an expectant eyebrow at him, though, he managed to find his legs and shut the door behind him quietly, feeling more secure with it closed. Knowing she'd tell him to, he kicked off his shoes before getting into the bed and laying down behind her.

"If you're cold, you can get under the blankets."

He was fine for now.

"For the record... it's nice to have a friend in a hellhole like this."

 _A friend._ She saw him as a friend. Without his control, his lips pulled into a smile. He'd figured by now that she at least saw him as an ally, but to hear the words out loud was an entirely different level of meaning. Closing his eyes, the smile lingered on his lips as he drifted off.

* * *

Nevaeh awoke in middle of night to find Ajax had once again cuddled up against her. He looked so peaceful. Despite being happy he wasn't dealing with the hellish nightmares, she just hoped he didn't start wanting more than a friendship from her. They had been growing close fast over the past few days, but the last thing she was looking for was a relationship—not to mention he was infected.

She felt her chest tighten as she was reminded of her fiancé's death. Shutting her eyes, she forced the thoughts from her mind, but it proved easier said than done. Because of the chaos over the past few days, she hadn't been given much of a chance to think of anything else other than surviving, but now that things had calmed down she found her mind straying down unwelcomed paths once again. Before she knew it, her eyes were glistening. She pressed her hand over her mouth to suppress a quiet sob that managed to force its way from her lips after almost two whole minutes of holding it back.

Ajax stirred faintly, eyes fluttering. It was as his sleepy mind cleared that he noticed how tense her body was and tensed himself. For a moment, he feared he had crossed a line, but then he heard her emit a quiet sniffle, and he frowned. Head lifting in question, he propped himself up on his arm to look down at her face curiously, only for his frown to deepen when he saw the tears streaking her cheeks.

"I'm fine," she managed; though, it was hardly convincing, her voice thick with tears.

He sat up, staring down at her with concern. The corners of his mouth tugging downwards, he made a small noise as if to inquire what was wrong. Reaching down, she pulled the covers further up to cover her face from his view.

"I'll be okay. I just need a minute."

Afraid he was pressing his luck, he was silent for a moment, but then he reached down and gently tugged back the covers from her face. He reached down as another sniffle escaped her, hesitating, and then gently wiped away one of her tears with his thumb whilst making another small sound of inquiry, but she didn't answer. She couldn't. So, he chose not to pressure her and just rested his head down on her shoulder. Taking a chance, he reached over and wrapped his arm around her, and when she didn't make any move to fight him, he snaked his other arm underneath her and pulled her back against him snugly, encasing her in a warm hug. Like he had, she crumbled, crying quietly.

A frown had stamped itself on his face as he listened to her. He didn't like seeing her like this at all. He wished she would tell him what was wrong, but he didn't want to push her. She would tell him when she was ready—at least, he hoped she would. Dipping his head, he nuzzled her shoulder, wishing he could talk to her. He wanted to soothe her, but he didn't know where to begin without knowing what was wrong. After a few minutes, he felt her slowly calming down, her breathing evening out. He could tell she had fallen back asleep, having relaxed in his hold. Finally, he allowed his eyes to close. Still wondering what had caused her tears, he fell back into a dreamless sleep.

* * *

 **Ajax is such a snuggle bug... unless you're a danger to Nevaeh. If so, it was nice knowing you. ;) Thoughts? Comments?**


	7. Crossing Paths

**Allan4242564:** He's a dog/cat trapped in a man's body.

 **GDeNofa:** Definitely a bad call, but there would be no story if every decision were smart! Haha. Glad you liked awkward Ajax. ;)

 **ammiranny:** Happy you like Ajax's character development thus far!

* * *

 **Chapter #7: Crossing Paths**

* * *

About a week had passed since Ajax had rescued her from the Hunter, and their wounds were healing fast thanks to proper rest and antibiotics. Ajax in particular was healing faster than her, his wounds from the horde rush all the way back at the creek already mostly gone. It had reached a point where he could jump around again, even with the still-healing claw marks on his side. Nevaeh figured it had something to do with the infection.

During their runs, they'd had a chance to work on their communication in the field, too. She was starting to be able to distinguish the different sounds Ajax made, and what they meant. At times, he reminded her of a raptor with the vocalizations he made, and the way he moved through thick shrubbery and rubble with a liquid ease. When he'd pounced a Tank to draw its attention away from her, his fingers had splayed out, claws digging into the infected's thick hide, and he'd released a piercing screech of fury. They'd had encounters with a couple other Hunters as well, but she had found she was able to tell apart their voices from Ajax's. Despite the attacks, their bond grew stronger by the day, trusting each other more and more. The awkwardness Ajax sometimes had around her was now completely gone, completely at ease in her presence. She could tell before that he had been afraid he was being a pest, but with a little reassurance he had relaxed. It had also become a regular thing for him to share a sleeping space with her. At first, she had been worried he was getting the wrong idea, but he didn't seem to be pushing anything on her, so she allowed it. If anything, he just seemed grateful for the warmth.

That day, though, their run had taken longer than expected after they'd had to hide out from a Tank for over an hour. Dark had fallen, and they were still a good ways away from the truck—too far to travel on foot. So, they decided to take refuge in one of the houses.

Ajax helped her push couches and tables up against the doors, drawing the curtains over the windows. If they remained quiet, they would be okay. With a resigned sigh, Nevaeh dropped her pack's weight from her shoulders and laid down on one of the couches while Ajax perched himself on a table beside the door, apparently having opted to stand first watch. She watched him from the couch with pensive eyes, unable to help but ogle him as he sat at rigid alert, body silhouetted against the dim moonlight coming through the curtains. There were no others like him—at least none that she had encountered. He was infected without a question, and yet his body had somehow managed to bypass the aggression and certain physical aspects that came with the flu. His skin was clear of welts, but his fingers were clawed, and he could clear thirty feet in a single leap. He had a pulse, he had body heat, and his intelligence was human despite the subtle animalistic behavior he displayed at times. Perhaps that was just because it was the only source of communication he had, though. Either way, he was a living miracle, and without realizing it he had become more to her than an extraordinary scientific find or guard dog.

It wasn't just his protective streak, either. He'd already come close to death multiple times and suffered painful wounds while fighting to protect her, but in addition he had cared for her. When she had broken down the night they'd found the house, he had held her, providing a much needed balm. At first, she had been worried he would try to take things further, but he never had, simply being there for her whenever she needed him. In return, she had been there for him as well. A couple days after arriving at the house, she noticed his movements were very stiff; probably due to being thrown against the boulder by the Charger. So, she'd had him lay on his stomach, where she'd proceeded to give him a back massage to loosen up the tight, aching muscles. At first, as expected, he'd been a little tense, but less than five minutes after he was melting like butter beneath her hands. They'd figured out some form of communication as well. It was shocking to her how easily she was able to understand him without the use of actual words on his part. Every now and then, they hit a snag, but for the most part it was working. However, even after everything, she always found herself questioning his loyalty towards her. Yes, she had spared him, but he barely knew her. At least, not enough to be going to such lengths to protect her. Eyes lifting, she looked over at him once more. It was amazing to her how fast he'd healed, now able to sit up straight without slouching over as much, but he wouldn't have even gone through that pain in the first place if it hadn't been for her.

"...Ajax?"

He looked over his shoulder in question.

"Why are you doing this?" she asked.

He blinked under his hood, tilting his head at her with a small frown.

"Why do you keep risking your life for me?"

Still, he was silent, staring at her like she had three heads. What he wanted to say was _why the hell do you think?_ She was the only one to show him a shred of kindness—to treat him like a human being. Without her, he had no purpose. Nevertheless, he couldn't say that, but if he could...

His eyes fell, and then his head was turning to scan over the room. Eyes landing on a desk, he was still for a moment, and then hopped down from the table. Her eyes could be felt on him as he walked over to the desk and pulled out one of the drawers, where he began rummaging through its contents. After a moment of searching through the drawers, he found a notepad and pen and pulled them out. It took him a couple minutes, but he managed to get a relatively secure handle on the pen. Here went nothiing. Inhaling a deep breath through his nose, he steadied his hand to the best of his ability and began to painstakingly write what he could. He kept it short, abbreviating a lot of words, or he'd be writing all night.

It felt like hours before he was finally done, the letters incredibly scratchy but legible, and set the pen down. Now that he was finally done, however, he found himself hesitating. For a long moment he stared down at the paper in his hands, suddenly feeling very unsure of himself. What if he came off too strong? He'd finally earned her trust and friendship. If he lost that, he didn't know what he'd do.

All of a sudden, he was startled when the paper was suddenly plucked from his grasp, and he immediately tried snatching it, but she held it out of his reach, pressing her free hand to his chest when he attempted reaching for it. Lips making a slight downward tug at his behavior, she turned her head to read, and his arms fell to his sides, frowning in uneasy conquer.

Her green eyes scanned over the shaky words carefully. _When I saw what I'd become, I didn't kno what 2 do. Saw the blood on my hands, mouth, clothes... Was going 2 kill myself. Then those men got me. Tortured me. U saved me. U treat me like a person. Not alone anymore. U gave me a purpose._

Her lips had parted as she read, shocked at the confession. He had been planning to kill himself? Head lifting, she looked at him, only to see he was making a direct point not to look at her, head turned off to the side and down to floor; shamefaced. _He thinks he's a monster. He didn't want to live after realizing what he'd become..._ It hit her harder than she was prepared for. If those men hadn't captured him, ironically enough, he'd probably be dead via suicide.

 _U gave me a purpose._ She had been the first to treat him like a human being. Remembering his breakdown in the safehouse, she realized the one and only reason he was still alive was because he wanted to make sure she never suffered the way he was. Without her control, she felt her eyes stinging. Setting the paper down on the desk, she watched as he looked there before up at her, and although his eyes were hidden beneath the shadow of his hood she could see the apprehension wavering in his gaze. Then she was stepping towards him and closing the space between them by pulling him into a tight, warm embrace.

He was still at first, taken off guard by the sudden embrace.

"You're not weak, and you're not a monster," she whispered. "Don't ever let yourself believe you're less than anyone else."

His eyes shut, face tensing a bit at her words.

"I wouldn't have let you into my life if you were a monster."

Slowly, he wrapped his arms around her, pulling her close. He held her tightly, basking in her warmth as he dipped his head to press his nose into her shoulder, relieved. He felt a warmth building up in his chest, swelling when he felt her lean her head against his. Pulling away just enough to look into his eyes, she took his face in her hands and placed a harmless kiss on his cheek. Finally, he willed forth a smile, and she smiled back. Reaching up, she gently tugged his hood down over his face, earning a grumble from him as he swatted her hand away, but he was smiling. With a quiet chuckle, she nicked his chin.

"I'm glad I found you, too." With that, she walked back over to the couch.

He watched after her, a small smile tugging at his lips—when a sudden gunshot suddenly cracked through the air, startling both of them deeply. Ajax's head snapped towards the window as Nevaeh stood in alert.

"That has to be the same people from before! I can't believe they're still alive!"

Ajax jumped up onto the table and peeked through the curtain as more gunshots rang through the air.

"Ajax, I have to see if they need help."

He snapped his head to her like she was insane. The noise he made clearly expressed his opinion on the matter.

"What if they're good people?" she argued.

He threw his arms out, and she could only assume he was thinking "what if they aren't?" He was entitled to his concern after what he'd been through with the men who tortured him, but she'd already turned her back once. She couldn't do it again—not with the possibility they were good people.

"I have to." Her eyes were apologetic, knowing she was putting him on the spot. "I get why you don't want to, but they might be good people. I turned out to be good, didn't I?"

Despite her point, he hardly looked reassured, but they didn't have time to argue. Bending over, she picked up her pack and strapped her katanas onto her back.

"You should stay back. If they see you, they might—"

Turning his back to her, he threw the door open and let it slam against the wall as he strode out of the house. Her shoulders dropped with a sigh of defeat before running after him at a full sprint. They were running through the town at a swift jog, following the gunshots, and they had begun to pick up the sound of voices. Then suddenly, both their heads snapped up at the distinct sound that could only mean an approaching horde.

"Shit, run!"

They tore off. Before long, infected started to appear from multiple directions. Nevaeh took out her gun and started shooting as Ajax leapt into action.

"Ajax, take it easy!" she reminded.

Removing her katanas, she began cutting through the infected. It was as she was as she was jumping down from a truck that a piercing shriek that didn't belong to Ajax rang through her ears, and she whipped around just in time to see a Hunter soaring through air straight at her. Unable to react fast enough, she released a startled shout as it landed on her, driving her hard into the ground and nearly knocking her out. She dropped her swords with the shock of the impact and quickly grabbed its wrists, pushing up against its chest with her knee as she barely restrained it from tearing into her.

"AJAX!"

Knocking an infected off the roof he was on, Ajax spun around at her cry, and his eyes widened when he saw her pinned. Lips curling back in a snarl, he instantly went to spring into action—when a slick, rope-like appendage was suddenly lassoing around his upper body, pinning his arms to his sides. He released a startled shriek, thrashing and bucking wildly in the Smoker's hold.

Nevaeh's head turned over shoulder, and her eyes widened in alarm when she saw him being dragged away. " _Ajax!_ "

The Hunter on top of her snapped at her face rabidly, and it released a deafening screech, saliva flying from its mouth. She turned her head away in disgust, but that was when her luck ran out when it managed to break an arm loose from her hold. Her eyes widened as it raised it high above his head. However, just as he was making the downward swipe, a figure suddenly ran in from the side, and a booted foot was colliding harshly with the infected's ribs, sending it rolling to all fours. Her head snapped up, expecting to see Ajax, only to be presented with the sight of a young guy no older than twenty-three standing above her. Lifting his shotgun, he aimed it as the Hunter was getting back to its feet and fired, managing a direct headshot that sent it collapsing to the ground in a lifeless heap. She looked back up at him, eyes wide as he looked down at her with large, baby blue eyes.

"You okay, Miss?"

Before she could part her lips to answer, a distressed shriek reminded her Ajax was in trouble, and before the guy could blink she was springing to her feet, grabbing her swords, and tearing off through the houses.

"Hey, wait a minute!"

Ellis took off after her, but she was fast as a bullet, and he lost her in the maze of houses. Slowing to a stop, he looked every which way, a confused frown stamped on his face, when a male voice was calling his name in vague annoyance.

"Ellis!" Nick came running into sight. "What the hell are you doing?"

"There was a girl, Nick! I just saved 'er, and she just took off!"

"You sure you're not seeing things?"

"Hell yeah, I'm sure!" Ellis snapped defensively.

They both suddenly jumped a mile in the air when a Hunter flew passed them at lightning speed, causing them to jump back in alarm.

"HUNTER!"

"Ajax, wait!" Nevaeh ran passed, not so much as sparing the two men a glance. "Ajax, they'll shoot you! Be careful!"

The two men were left staring after her, expressions priceless.

"...Was she just... _chasing_ the Hunter?"

"I told you I wasn't seein' things!" exclaimed Ellis.

In a mixture of torn interest and unease, they took off after her. However, when they reached a clearing they spotted Rochelle and Coach, but the girl had disappeared along with the Hunter once again.

"What the hell...?" muttered Nick.

"Where'd they go?" exclaimed a no less puzzled Ellis.

At that second, another mass of infected rushed the area before they were given a chance to linger on the thought of the strange woman, forcing them into action once again. They seemed to keep coming, and they were running low on ammo, their guns only creating further disturbance as they struggled to fend off the horde. Nick released a shout as he shoved back two infected with his rifle, quickly becoming overwhelmed as he shot them in the head as they drew too close—only to be bombarded by a new group immediately after. At this rate, they would be out of ammo in a matter of minutes.

"We're getting our asses kicked!" he snapped.

Ellis' voice rang through the air the next second _. "Smoker!"_

The conman whirled around when he heard the hacking wheeze, and he barely caught sight of the Smoker standing on the balcony above him before its tongue was shooting out and lassoing his upper body before he could so much as lift his gun. A strangled shout escaped his lips as he was dragged away, having dropped his rifle on the ground.

"It's got Nick!" exclaimed Rochelle.

"Hold on, brother!" called Ellis.

The other three fought to gain the upper hand and find time to run to the conman's aid, but they were becoming overwhelmed with the horde rushing them at all sides. If any of them looked away for just a second, they were being tackled by infected.

The long tentacle was wrapped around his neck, and with his arms pinned to his sides he was rendered helpless, gagging and gasping as it tightened ever more around his throat. His panic only increased when he felt his feet leave the ground, and infected bolted towards him like a horde of children charging a piñata.

That was when Nevaeh reappeared. She ran into the scene at a full sprint, two glocks in her hands as she took out a zombie with a headshot right in front of Ellis, making him jump back and snap his head to her in alarm with a startled shout. She wasted no time, having seen Nick's predicament. Turning, she flew towards the stairs leading to the balcony, shooting the infected in her path as she ran up the wooden steps. Thankfully, there were less zombies on the boardwalk, and she was able to make her way to the Smoker. In one smooth motion, she holstered her guns, pulled the handkerchief up over her nose and mouth, and whipped out the two blades she kept at her hips as she leapt at the special infected. They fell over the railing with her on its back.

"Holy shit!" exclaimed Coach.

She drove the blades down into the Smoker's back midair before landing in a roll as they crashed to the floor below, handkerchief shielding her lungs from the sickly green smoke. Nick was already ripping the tongue off, turning his head up to look at her as she put her blades away and drew her katanas, twirling them once in her grasp. He watched as she jumped off one of the cars and cut down two infected, landing in another roll before whipping around and slicing clear through the legs of more as they charged her.

Nick wasn't the only one staring. Ellis watched her, completely entranced as she cut through the horde with unbelievable ease. Her eyes were a fierce hazel-green, her body containing an inhuman grace as she twisted and turned to fend off the enemy. Her long hair swished with each turn in dark waves, teeth clenched in a determined snarl.

"Ellis, LOOK OUT!"

He whipped around at Nick's shout, and his eyes widened when he saw the Charger barreling straight towards him at full speed. He was deeply startled, however, when a Hunter suddenly flew in from nowhere, but rather than tackling him it attacked the Charger, knocking it off course in result. The Charger emitted an enraged bellow, flailing in attempt to throw the smaller infected off as it clawed at its face and head. A headshot was what put the beast down for good, and Ellis looked over his shoulder to see Nick was holding up his gun. With darkened eyes, the conman aimed at the Hunter, but it sprung away before he could fire.

"What the hell was that?" he snapped.

Nevaeh spun around, having climbed the stairs once more to the balcony above. "Ajax!"

The Hunter reappeared on the roof of the house directly across the street from her. Leaping down, it landed at her side whilst snarling at the other infected. Standing below, Nick was staring openly with Ellis.

"What the…"

The ground suddenly began to shake, signaling the arrival of an even bigger threat, and all their bodies simultaneously tensed.

"TANK!" Coach hollered.

Nevaeh's head snapped up, and Ajax screeched. The trembling in the ground increased, and she clenched her swords, Ajax growling and bristled beside her. When the beast came crashing into the clearing, all the fire power was instantly aimed in that direction.

"SHOOT IT! SHOOT IT!" Coach bellowed.

Reaching down, it ripped a large boulder straight from the ground, and it whipped it towards them with a furious roar. Nevaeh ducked down sharply, looking up as the large rock soared over her head and landed in the mud with a wet splat, and she turned her darkened glare back towards the Tank. Standing, she calmly sheathed her katanas and pulled out her guns before jumping down from the balcony, earning a startled shriek from Ajax. The infected would not be defeated easily, however, its huge mass absorbing most of their bullets. If anything, their bullets only seemed to piss it off more. They quickly cleared out of the way as it stampeded by, heading straight for Nevaeh.

"Are you crazy? Move!" shouted Nick.

She stood her ground, eyes darkened and fierce. It lifted its huge arms when it reached her, rearing its gigantic form over her, and she took the opportunity to duck. Swinging her swords up, she managed to inflict two deep gashes in its flesh, and it emitted a bellowing roar of fury as she quickly dodged out of the way, slipping beneath its legs and taking off with a nimble grace. With her out of the way, Ajax lunged, landing on the hulking infected in a storm of teeth and claws.

The others had busied themselves fending off the other infected, but they never failed to steal glances back at the Hunter doing a number on the Tank like it was an art form. At one point, the brute nearly managed to grab the smaller infected, but Ajax dodged, clinging on for the ride as the beast flailed and thrashed like a wild ape. However, eventually it became too dangerous, and he leapt off, grabbing onto a stilted walkway above and swinging his body upwards out of the Tank's reach. In a fit of rage and pain, the now blinded Tank blindly charged forward straight towards where Ellis was backed into a corner by a group of common infected. He froze, eyes flying wide when he saw the mass of flesh barreling towards him at an alarming speed. His gun had ran out of bullets, and his only weapon was a machete, which was no match for something as big as a Tank.

The Tank released a deafening bellow, and the mechanic stumbled back in fright, baby blues wide. Turning, he went to run for it, but his foot was caught by a fallen zombie, and he found himself crashing hard onto his chin. Rolling over, he sent a booted foot into the zombie's face, snapping its neck, and then looked up at the beast in horror.

Then suddenly, the sound of metal ringing through air reached his ears, his head snapping up as a sword flew overhead and impaled the Tank directly through the skull. It dropped like a wounded bull, sliding to a halt a mere few inches from where Ellis lay. For the first few seconds, all he could do was stare, his eyes wide in a state of shock. His heart was threatening to burst from his chest, panting as he absorbed that he was still alive. He looked up as a figure walked by him, realizing it was the woman that had come to their aid.

He watched as she yanked her sword from the Tank's head, and he was deeply startled when the Hunter walked over on all fours a mere foot from where he sat, but it made no move to attack him. It crouched beside him, looking down at him with a tilted head, much like a dog would, and he drew back cautiously.

Nevaeh turned back to face him, seeing the look he was giving Ajax. Reaching down, she offered her hand, and he took it after a moment of what she took as hesitation. With a firm yank, she pulled him to his feet.

"You alright?"

He nodded. "Thanks a bunch."

They didn't have a chance to continue their conversation, for more infected soon arrived, drawn in by the noise.

"Let's move!" shouted Nick.

Ellis turned to Nevaeh. "Hey, follow us. We think we know where the safe house is."

Though she seemed unsure, she knew they really didn't have any other option at the moment. Together, they all tore off down the street once more.

"This way!" called Rochelle.

Nevaeh skidded to a halt when she heard the bellow of a Charger, and she spotted it down the side street they were currently passing. Aiming, she fired at it with Nick, barely managing to take it down before it reached them. With the Charger dead, they all took their chance to run for it—only to draw to an abrupt halt when they were greeted with the sight of a Witch sitting directly in the middle of their path, her haunting sobbing drifting through the air around them like a ghost. The two streets near her were blocked off, giving them no other option, and taking a detour would only mean doubling the distance they had to travel. On foot, it wasn't a risk any of them were willing to take, especially with night quickly approaching.

"Bitch," Coach whispered.

"What do we do? We can't go around her," whispered Rochelle.

Nevaeh looked beside her at Ajax. "You ready? Just like we practiced."

He nodded.

The others exchanged looks with one another, confirming that they were all thinking the same thing, as Nevaeh handed a jar of the Boomer bile she'd recovered during one of their runs down to the Hunter, which he clipped to his hip. Then, he was stalking forward on all fours, silent against the cement as he drew a hazardous few feet from the female infected.

"What's it doing?" whispered Nick.

Their grips tightened on their weapons when they heard the Witch growing increasingly irritated as she began to sense the Hunter drawing in, but Nevaeh held up a hand to wave them down.

"Don't shoot until I say."

Then without warning, Ajax lashed out at the Witch, clawing her straight across the face, and he was tearing off like a bottle rocket the next second as she sprung up with a shrill scream. As planned, she tore off after him, shrieking and gaining on him within a matter of seconds. However, the Hunter seemed to have been predicting this, for right as she was going to get him he leapt upwards and scrambled up one of the houses, missing those long claws by mere inches as they left deep marks in the wood. Grabbing the bile jar off his hip, he chucked it down at her with all his might, and it shattered with impact, covering her with the disgusting green vomit. The infected that had been attracted to the Witch's screaming instantly changed direction and charged towards her in a giant horde, surrounding her as she lashed out at them wildly. Nevaeh took this chance to spring forward, running passed the horde and down the street; the others following close behind her. Lighting the Molotov cocktail in her hand, she chucked it as hard as she could at the Witch, and the horde was sent bursting into flames.

"Holy shit!" Ellis exclaimed.

Ajax had jumped off the tree and to the ground a safe distance away when the others had begun to rain their bullets down on the horde, the Witch's screams ringing through the air from the center of the infected mob. Ajax had disappeared from sight as they made their way through the streets, but then moments later he reappeared and sent an alerting vocalization to Nevaeh. She looked towards him, and he wrapped his arms around himself and pointed behind him before taking off once more.

"What the hell was that?" shouted Nick.

"He's found a safehouse! Everyone, this way!" Without so much as looking back, she ran in the direction the Hunter had left. She could hear the others footsteps thudding behind her as she sprinted ahead, picking off stray infected as she went. Every now and then Ajax would reappear to ensure she was following him and that she was safe, and eventually she spotted a small light. "I see it!"

Ajax stood off to the side as she opened the door and ran in, Nick following close in tow.

"Let's hurry it up!" the conman snapped, whilst shooting an infected in the head. "They're closing in!"

Rochelle ran in soon after, reloading as she went. "Let's move it, people!" she shouted. The second Ajax bounded into the room, however, Nick threw a fit.

"Oh, _hell no_ _!_ "

"Nick, just get in the safehouse!" Coach pushed him in, listening as Rochelle released a startled shriek in the background when the Hunter had landed beside her on the table. However, instead of attacking her like she thought he would he just looked at her before jumping down and walking off to the side.

It was at that moment, though, that the tides took an abrupt change, and within a split second Ajax had a rifle aimed at his head. He froze, eyeing the weapon in fear.

"Don't move," Nick sneered.

However, it was his turn to freeze when he felt the cool metal of a gun press against his temple. "Drop the gun."

Slowly, cautiously, he glanced over his shoulder to see Nevaeh's eyes were all but glowing with the promise of death.

"Whoa, whoa, everyone just cool it!" exclaimed Coach.

"Drop it." Although her voice was quiet, venom dropped from each syllable.

"Or what?" Nick challenged.

"I cover the walls with cherry pie."

He glared back at her, keeping one eye on Ajax, who was glancing back and forth between Nevaeh and the conman nervously. He wasn't sure why it was so shocking to him how protective Nevaeh was being, but he didn't want her to get herself shot, either, and this white-coated man didn't seem like the friendly type at all.

"Shoot him, and I'll just shoot you right after." Pressing the gun harder against his head, she glowered at him malevolently. "I said _drop it_."

"Nick, put the gun down!" snapped Rochelle finally.

Nick continued to glare at her for a long moment, but when she didn't relent he seemed to accept that he had lost this round. So, with great reluctance, he took his gun off Ajax and let it fall limp on his finger in a sign of begrudging peace, expression bitter.

"Step back," said Nevaeh lowly.

Not relenting his glare, he did as commanded, and she walked around him so she was now standing between him and Ajax. Once the Hunter was safely positioned behind her, she lowered her weapon, watching as the other three hesitantly relaxed. Turning away, she looked to Ajax.

"You okay?"

He nodded, only to shift his gaze over towards the conman, lips twitching in a sneer as he emitted a low growl and sniffed disdainfully in his direction. The fear and distrust on the four survivor's faces, he knew, was solely based on the hood covering most of his face from their view. Even though he had just helped save their lives, they were treating him like a wild animal. Grimfaced, he followed Nevaeh as sat down in the corner.

Lowering himself down slowly, he curled up beside her, and she could feel the unease about him as the others stared him down. "Hey," she ruffled his hood. "It's okay."

He looked up at her with a frown, and she patted her thigh. Scooting a little closer, he laid his head down on her leg, and she gave his shoulder a supporting pat. The others were staring, some more obviously than others, as they sat down one by one against the opposite end of the safehouse.

"This is bizarre…" Rochelle whispered.

"It's fucked is what it is," Nick spat in return.

Coach rolled his eyes. "Give it a rest, Nick. If 'e growls, shoot 'im. Happy?"

"I'll be happy when I'm not in the same room as that thing. Why are we even allowing it to stay in here?"

"Because if it don't kill us, she will," murmured Rochelle. "We don't need a gunfight. Clearly, he's not like every other Hunter. Otherwise, we'd be dead already. Let's just keep our cool until we can figure out what's going on."

"Easy for you to say. Wait 'til it decides it's hungry."

Nevaeh ignored their muttered argument, petting Ajax's side comfortingly. Rochelle was sitting with Ellis, who was the only one that hadn't thrown his two cents in about the Hunter, having zoned out as he stared at Nevaeh with spellbound baby blues.

"Dang… she's beautiful, ain't she, Nick?"

Nick had busied himself with patching up a scrape on his arm, not so much as looking at him. "Not now, Ellis."

"I wanna talk to 'er."

"Go for it. Her pet might get jealous, though."

His obviously foul mood didn't deter the mechanic's dreamy frame of mind. "What should I say?"

"You could tell her to kick that abomination out."

"C'mon, Nick, seriously."

"Ellis. I'm telling you right now. Drop it."

Ellis' shoulders sunk at the lack of helpful input and looked back over to Nevaeh. Rochelle had remained silent, having been staring at the woman and Hunter silently.

"You know what, screw it. I'm gonna go see what she's about," she announced.

"Your funeral," grumbled Nick.

Standing, she walked over to Nevaeh, keeping her steps slow as she drew near in fear of stirring the Hunter at her side. "Mind if I sit down?"

Looking up at her, Nevaeh wordlessly motioned to a spot near her, and Rochelle sat down. It was quiet a moment, the older woman looking as if she were trying to think of what to say.

"We didn't get a chance to introduce ourselves earlier. I'm Rochelle."

Nevaeh nodded. "Nevaeh."

Rochelle motioned to the others. "This is Coach, Nick, and Ellis."

"Howdy!" Ellis chimed in brightly.

Nevaeh looked up at him silently, and he seemed to shrink away nervously at her stare. She then looked back to Rochelle when she spoke.

"That was some pretty badass shit you pulled back there. You were a regular Alice."

Finally, a small smile tugged at Nevaeh's lips, as she went back to petting Ajax's side when the Hunter made a small noise, and a couple minutes later he began to emit a soft sound similar to a purr. Rochelle was staring blankly.

"I've never heard one purr before…"

"He's a cat trapped in a man's body," said Nevaeh wryly, and she smiled when she felt Ajax bump her lightly.

Rochelle glanced between them. "So… how'd you figure out his name?"

"He told me."

"He _told_ you?" piped in Nick incredulously from across the room.

"His name is all he can say so far, but don't let it fool you. He's incredibly intelligent."

Ajax smiled up at her.

"I found him with his leg caught in a bear trap. Originally, I was going to kill him, but the way he was acting made me stop. At first, he looked like a typical Hunter, snarling and lashing out at me whenever I drew near, but then it quickly turned into fear when he realized I had an advantage over him. I'd never seen a Hunter—or any infected—express fear before. So I took a chance."

The other woman appeared utterly fascinated, staring at her in disbelief. "So he didn't attack you when you let him loose?"

"No. Admittedly, at first, I didn't want him anywhere near me, but he kept following me. I even shot at him, and he kept coming back. Finally, he disappeared, and I came across a horde. I was doing okay up until I was tackled by another Hunter. It probably would have killed me if this leapfrog hadn't flown in and saved my ass." She gave Ajax's head a gentle ruffle. "I thought he'd went his own way, but it turned out he'd been watching out for me at a safe distance."

She proceeded to tell her about the past couple of weeks, covering all the times Ajax had saved her life, and how he had nearly died protecting her from the Charger. She also told them about the injuries he had suffered because he had tried to save her. Rochelle was completely engrossed in the story. Coach and Ellis had come over to listen as well, all periodically glancing towards the Hunter as she told the of her experiences with Ajax. Nick remained at the opposite end of the safehouse, leaned back against the wall with his eyes closed; blatantly drowning them out. As the others continued asking questions, however, he finally looked over at them with an annoyed scoff.

"You realize what that thing is, right?" Nick snapped patronizingly, speaking to Nevaeh.

Coolly, though piercingly, her eyes shifted in his direction. "He's a _he_ , and he has a name. Use it. He just saved your lives." She turned her attention towards Ellis. "And you'd be sporting a few broken ribs if he hadn't been there to pounce that Charger."

Rochelle spoke up hesitantly. "So… what? You trained it like a dog?"

Ajax scowled up at her from his spot on Nevaeh's thigh, making it clear he hardly appreciated the comparison.

"He's not my pet. He can understand English and think for himself. It's talking he has a problem with."

They were silent, exchanging unsure glances back and forth between themselves. It was clear they were hardly convinced, but no one was about to open fire in the safehouse's confined space, either. For now, the situation was let go. Eventually, they all ventured to their own corners—all except for Ellis, who lingered behind, staring at her as if he were working up the courage to speak.

"Jus' fer the record, I like 'im!"

Nevaeh looked at him, and then, finally, allowed a tiny smile, but it faded almost as quickly as it had formed, and she looked back down at Ajax.

Ellis hesitated. "...Thanks fer savin' my ass out there. Shit, if that Hunter had made it another three feet… heh. Well, I don't wanna think about it."

Again, her head turned up calmly. "You're welcome."

He smiled, opening his mouth to speak again, but Coach cut him off. "Ellis, go to sleep. Let her rest."

The young mechanic's mouth glued shut. Eyes falling, he glanced back up at her once more before giving a sort of bashful wave. "G'night."

"Goodnight."

Turning away, he walked over to his designated sleeping space, and Nevaeh leaned her head back against the wall, still rubbing Ajax's side.

* * *

 **Tension. I think I see a friendship blooming between Ajax and Nick already.**


	8. Joining Forces

**Guest:** Thanks so much! Love to know the plot is bringing excitement :)

 **lovesickBlondie:** Thanks for the love!

 **TheLooneyBin:** Taking it even farther! Hope to see more of you!

 **Allan4243564:** You haven't seen anything yet ;) More protective Hunter savagery to come.

 **Kit Kat:** I don't want to give anything away. All I can tell you is that it's going to be a bit of a love triangle.

 **GDeNofa:** Glad you liked the dialogue! And that's how I picture Ellis regardless of what is happening. xD

 **Leach60:** Ajax doesn't trust humans as it is, and Nick is a zombie-hating prick, so it might take some time xD

* * *

 **Chapter #8: Joining Forces**

* * *

Nevaeh was one of the first awake the next morning. She wasn't sure why she was up so early, the sun having barely begun to rise above the orange-hued horizon. It took her less than a couple seconds to realize Ajax was no longer curled up beside her, and she looked over to see the Hunter was perched in front of the door, as usual. Laying on the floor less than three feet from him, Nick stirred, rolling over with a groggy sigh. When he saw the Hunter crouched on the table above him, however, he jumped, his hand automatically reaching for his gun—but stopped himself last second.

"Christ…"

Ajax looked down at him, only to earn a look of scorn from the conman.

"What are you looking at?"

Ajax snorted at him and looked away once more.

"Yeah, screw you, too."

"Come on, Nick, lighten up," Ellis piped up from around corner.

"Ellis, shut the hell up."

Nevaeh stood. Slinging her pack over her shoulders, she slipped her katanas behind her back. In the meantime, Ellis had stood, and he walked up to the door to look out at their surroundings. Infected were milling around, but not many.

"So, what's the plan?" yawned Rochelle.

"Who the hell knows now that the chopper's crashed... again," grumbled Nick.

Nevaeh's eyebrow arched. "'Again'?"

"We haven't had the best luck with helicopters," said Rochelle grimly. "The first one crashed when the pilot turned, and the second one went down after a Tank threw a slab of concrete at us."

"All we can do is keep on the move," said Coach. "No use sittin' on our asses."

"It's been awhile since we've eaten, though," Rochelle admitted, "and we've run out of water. It might actually do us some good to focus on finding a safe place to get some proper rest." It was written in her eyes what she was asking, tone gentle and somewhat cautious as she voiced her next question. "You wouldn't happen to have a place... would you?"

Nevaeh averted her eyes to the side, not answering right away.

"Please," the other woman persisted humbly. "We won't be in your hair for long. We're not dangerous."

"No offense, but I don't know that." Nevaeh looked back to her.

"Then why go through the trouble of helping us?"

"We ain't lookin' for trouble," Coach pressed.

"Look, you seem like a decent enough group, but people will say anything these days to survive."

"Listen to me." Coach took a step towards her, only to back off hastily when Ajax let out a warning growl, hands flying up in defense. In the same second, Nick's pistol had flown up to point directly between the Hunter's eyes.

Fearlessly and with an unmoving firmness, Nevaeh calmly inserted herself between the conman and Hunter once again, eyes fixated coldly on the white-suited gambler. "I can't travel with your people if you keep pointing your weapons at mine."

"He's not _people_ ," spat Nick.

Another guttural growl emitted from deep within Ajax's throat; however, his last response was to lift his hand and flip the conman off.

"That's not human to you?" Nevaeh nodded to the crude gesture. "He's more human than most of the people I've encountered so far."

Nick just continued to scowl at her, when a hand on his gun made him look over at Coach, mouth tugging into a frown.

"We won't raise our weapons to your Hunter... and in return he'll stop with the growling. As you can probably understand... we ain't used to 'em being friendly."

"As _you_ can probably understand... he's not exactly used to friendly greetings from people anymore than you're used to friendly greetings from Hunters. He was tied down and tortured, and he didn't do anything to deserve it. I've already lost track of how many times he's saved my life, and I haven't even known him a whole month yet."

"To me, it sounds like we got off on the wrong foot, then." Passing his gun off to his left hand, he held out his right to her in a forthcoming gesture. "Let's start over."

Nevaeh glanced down at his hand. It was a tough call, and she wasn't exactly sure whether or not she was willing to show these strangers where she and Ajax had been holding up. Then there was that Nick guy, whose obvious problem with Ajax was less than reassuring. Putting Ajax at risk was not something she was going to tolerate.

"I can promise you no harm will come to your Hunter," Coach pressed. "'E seems... friendly enough."

"Then shake his hand."

He paused visibly. "What?"

She gave a meaningful shrug of her shoulders, arms remaining folded over her chest. "If you mean what you say, you should shake on it."

It didn't escape her attention how his eyes seemed to shift behind her at Ajax hesitantly, but at least he wasn't as forward about his reluctance as Nick was, who promptly voiced his displeasure at the situation.

"I am _not_ shaking that Hunter's hand. I'd like to keep all my limbs, thanks."

" _Nick_."

"You shake his hand, then!"

Coach's eyes narrowed unappreciatively at the gambler; however, the hesitant glance he cast towards Ajax only gave Nick the victory he was seeking, and Rochelle hadn't made any move to step forward, either. Having had just about enough, Nevaeh was about to call it a day, when Ellis' chipper tone of voice broke through the silence.

"Aw, hell, y'all are overreactin'! _Sheesh_." Walking passed Nick, he stepped in front of Coach and held a fearless hand out to Ajax with an approachable smile. "Name's Ellis! Pleasure to meet 'cha, Ajax!"

Blinking, Ajax glanced towards Nevaeh in an unsure manner, but she just shrugged whilst sending a curious glance at the go-lucky hick. Looking back at Ellis, the Hunter slowly, almost hesitantly, extended his hand, and they joined in a brief handshake.

Ellis' smile grew. "Hey, 'e's even warm, guys! Ya can't be dead if ya got body heat."

Seeming curious despite himself, Coach was the next to finally gather up the nerve to join hands with the Hunter, his polite nature inclining him to introduce himself regardless of his caution. "Well, I'll be damned. Ellis is right."

As Rochelle timidly allowed Ajax to take her hand, Nick's eyes were scanning the Hunter up and down with scrutiny.

"So, he's not dead?"

"Apparently not. He actually has one of the strongest heartbeats I've ever heard. Must be from all that jumping around." Lifting her hand, Nevaeh gave Ajax's chin a gentle nick, earning her a smile in return.

Nick grunted. "Doesn't make any sense, but whatever..."

"None of this makes any sense," said Rochelle. "It's a zombie apocalypse... the kind of stuff that's only supposed to happen in horror movies."

"It's yer turn, Nick!" said Ellis.

"I'm am not shaking his hand. I won't shoot 'im, but I'm not shaking his goddamn hand."

"Man, stop bein' such a prick. 'E ain't doin' anythin' wrong."

"Not at the moment."

"If you're going to travel with us, you're going to have to accept he's part of the team," Nevaeh suddenly cut in. Her voice was sharp and firm, leaving absolutely no room for argument. "He's a person. So if you want to be a racist ass, fine, but you're making the rest of your team suffer. Your choice."

Ajax remained silent, staring at the conman with impassive eyes from beneath the shadow of his hood, but only the blind wouldn't be able to see the scorn tinting his features. Nick stared at Nevaeh, almost glaring, but his team was glaring right back at him along with her and Ajax. Although he appeared a level beyond irritated, he ended up giving under the pressure, if only to rid himself of the aggravation. Sighing irritably, he slung his gun over his shoulder.

"Fine. I still don't like it, though." Stepping forward, he shouldered passed Ellis, stopping before Ajax to stare at him in a mixture of caution and contempt.

Seeming to share the man's disdain, Ajax held out his hand silently and waited for him to make the move. When Nick finally lifted his hand to shake, however, Ajax took him and the rest of the room by complete surprise when he suddenly whipped his hand back at the last second, jerking his thumb back over his shoulder in a taunting manner. The condescending smirk on his face said it all: _too slow. Dick._

Nevaeh didn't bother trying to hide the smile on her face, and Ellis was grinning just as mockingly, taking smug amusement in his companion's degradation.

"Heck, Ajax, I think I'm startin' to like you, brother."

Scoffing, Nick flung a dismissive hand. "Whatever, can we get the hell out of here, already? We good, or what?"

Nevaeh looked over her shoulder at Ajax. He turned his head to her, gaze shifting back towards the others from the corner of his eye. A tense silence drifted between the others as they awaited the decision with bated breath, when, finally, he nodded, and Nevaeh returned her gaze to them.

"Fine."

Nick cocked his shotgun. "Let's rock and roll, then."

Ellis walked up to the door, raising his handgun when he saw the infected milling about outside. Just as he was placing his finger over the trigger, though, a hand clamped down on the gun, causing him to look to his left at Nevaeh.

"The less noise, the better." She turned her head to Ajax. "Ready?"

He nodded, and only then did she open the door, edging it just enough for him to slink through. The others watched as Ajax rose to his full height, and after a brief onceover of his surroundings he was springing into action. Nevaeh's eyes shifted to the others, watching each of their faces closely as Ajax took out the infected with mostly single blows. Their expressions transitioned between shock, intimidation, and perhaps even a little impression as they observed the Hunter in action.

"Strong son of a bitch…" Coach muttered.

"Still wanna share rooms with 'im?" asked Nick, speaking to no one in particular.

Ajax came to a full standstill after taking down the last of the infected within sight, but his body remained tensed and rigid with alert as he sniffed the air for further threat. Inside the safehouse, Ellis went to reach for the door handle, only for Nevaeh to place her hand on his shoulder, making him look over his shoulder at her in question.

"Wait for the signal," she said.

Rochelle peered over at her curiously. "Signal?"

As if on cue, Ajax turned to them and nodded.

"If he does that, it means the coast is clear. If he growls or snarls, it means he senses danger. If he shrieks, it means he's trying to warn you there's something behind you." She opened the door and stepped out as the others exchanged looks.

Ellis tugged his hat back onto his head. "Shoot, I don't know about you guys, but I like this Ajax guy."

Nick scoffed. "You like everyone."

Nevaeh joined Ajax's side as he leaned down and snatched a still relatively clean handkerchief hanging from one of the fallen infected's back pocket, using it to clean off the blood that had gotten on his hands. His attention veered to her when he felt her tug the bottom of his hoodie.

"You okay?"

He nodded. The pain had dulled substantially with her care and close watch. It still pulled and grew sore if he moved a certain way, but it was nothing compared to the original agony. His head turned once again when he felt her gently pat his back, but she wasn't looking at him, having turned her gaze to watch the others as they lingered near the safehouse—probably awaiting further instruction.

"We need to find a car big enough to hold all of us," she spoke up at last, drawing the others' attentions towards her. "I saw a Jeep Wrangler a couple streets down. We were planning on taking it, so that's where we're headed."

"Sounds like a plan!" chirped Ellis, who looked more than eager to get a move on.

Nevaeh looked to Ajax. "Since there's more of us, we mine as well cover more ground during watch. You got the rooftops?"

He nodded, but not before stopping to look back at the other group, particularly Nick, in what she guessed was vague distrust.

"I can take care of myself." She gave his hood a gentle tug. "He's mostly bark, anyway."

Although he still appeared unsure, he seemed satisfied enough, and he turned before jumping up onto the nearest building with a single leap.

"How far can he jump, anyway?" asked Rochelle.

Nevaeh glanced over her shoulder at her as she walked. "On flat ground, he can clear over thirty feet. Airborne... like leaping off a building or jumping downwards... even farther. His sense of smell and hearing is way more developed than ours, too."

"Why's he still got his eyes?" asked Coach.

"That, I couldn't tell you. All I know is that he's actually alive, he has human intelligence, and he doesn't remember anything before infection."

For awhile, it was quiet amongst the newly assembled group, instead focusing their attentions on their surroundings. However, one of them simply couldn't contain the glances he kept stealing in Nevaeh's direction.

Ellis' lips tugged downwards in a small, thoughtful frown as he walked. He wanted to talk to her. She was the prettiest girl he'd ever seen. He'd said that before, but this time was different. He could feel it. He just didn't know what to say to her, too nervous to approach her. Every time he opened his mouth to speak, his tongue seemed to knot, and his words became jumbled. In the end, he resorted to silence, shoulders slouching in defeat.

They had stop briefly at a small food market to collect some extra supplies while Ajax stood watch, and then they continued on their way. It was quiet after that until they found the Wrangler, and Ajax stood watch on top of the nearest house while Ellis popped the hood to check the vehicle's condition. By sheer luck, the keys were left inside, and they discovered they still had a full tank of gas.

"Guess they either had a better ride, or they were dead before they got a chance to use it." Throwing his gun in, Nick climbed into the driver's seat. "Dibs on driving."

"I wanna drive!" whined Ellis, head poking out from under the hood with a pouting expression equivalent to a toddler.

"Hell no. Last time you drove, my life flashed before my eyes."

"Yeah, cuz I was savin' it!"

"I'm driving."

Pouting, the mechanic shut the hood, grumbling under his breath about the unfairness of it all and something about an "ungrateful fancy suit" as he walked around to the back doors. Coach had jumped on the opportunity to grab the front passenger seat, opting out of being sandwiched with the others in the back. After given a heading from Nevaeh, they were pulling out and rolling down the road.

The silence didn't remain comfortable for long. About thirty minutes into the drive, everyone was becoming stir crazy. The back seats were a bit overcrowded with the four of them. Nevaeh was practically sitting in both Ajax's and Ellis' laps, having squeezed her smaller frame between them while Rochelle put as much space between herself and Ajax as possible after switching seats with Ellis. As expected, Ajax was tense throughout the whole ride, muscles rigid, and his tension seemed to spread throughout the entire car.

The only one relaxed was Nevaeh, who had taken to rubbing slow circles on the Hunter's back in attempt to make him relax. It worked a little, and she could feel the muscles unclenching under her palm. Her legs had been practically crushed between the seats until Ellis had offered for her to stretch out over his lap. At first, she had politely declined, but when her muscles began to cramp up she decided she was better off not getting a charley horse in the middle of running away from a horde, and shifted so she could lay her legs over his, leaning back against Ajax.

She had taken to fiddling with the ring on her finger, leaned back against Ajax, who was rested back against the car door. She felt a bit imposing using the two of them as a couch, but neither seemed to mind.

Rochelle had been watching her for the past five minutes or so, noting the glum expression on her face. Out of a mixture of curiosity and female instinct, she reached over and nudged her leg to gain her attention, and she looked up.

"You okay?"

Nevaeh looked back down, sighing quietly. "I was supposed to get married soon. Then the infection hit, and... well, you can guess the rest."

This caught Ajax's immediate attention, frowning down at her with a furrowed brow. Had that been what had her so upset the other night? _She was engaged._ It hit him harder than he expected, like a slap to the face. He had noticed the ring, but he had never thought too deeply into it. How could he have been so blind?

"I'm sorry," Rochelle apologized.

Nevaeh shrugged, the motion heavy. "Maybe it's for the best."

Ellis frowned at the grim statement. "What makes you say that?"

"He's in a better place. I wouldn't want him to be stuck in a world like this."

Emitting a small sound as if to voice his sympathies, Ajax rested his chin on top of her head.

Ellis shrugged. "I dunno, I think it's kinda fun."

Nevaeh frowned at him. "Killing people is fun to you, is it?" Her eyes had grown sharp, slightly chilled as she looked at him. "Infected or not, they are all still people. They're human beings. You think it's _fun_?"

He blinked, clearly taken aback by her sudden hostility.

"Would it be fun if the zombies you had to kill were your friends? Family?"

Ellis remained quiet, knowing better than to speak.

"Clearly, you haven't lost anyone to this outbreak. This situation we're in is sad. There is nothing exciting or entertaining about this. Grow up."

He dipped his head sheepishly. Coach and Rochelle remained silent, exchanging awkward glances.

"She told you, Ellis," Nick sniggered.

"You, too," Nevaeh snapped, only to receive a look in return.

* * *

Nevaeh almost breathed out a sigh of relief when they finally pulled up to the house, having started to itch from the tension suffocating the cramped vehicle. Ajax all but flung himself from the car, beyond the point of stir-crazy, and he made a show of scaling the house to get to the roof in order to check out their surroundings. Below, Nick stared up at him as he shut his door before exchanging glances with Coach.

"Well, I'm not sleeping tonight," Nick muttered.

Once given the OK by Ajax, Nevaeh turned her head over her shoulder to regard their guests. "Follow me, and I'll show you to your rooms."

"Were the windows already barred like this?" asked Rochelle, peering up at the well-barricaded home with curious eyes.

"Yes. It also has a generator. You're welcome to take showers, but try to keep them short.

All their heads snapped to her instantaneously.

"Did she say showers?" whispered Rochelle, as if afraid it would be jinxed if she said it too loud.

"I call first dibs!" Before any of them could so much as form an argument, Ellis was dashing ahead like a competitive child, much to Nick's vocal disapproval.

"There's two showers," said Nevaeh, upon hearing Nick and Coach's grumbling complaints; however, it was Rochelle who ended up claiming second dibs. The two men backed down to her, though reluctant, knowing it was better not to argue with the tired, sore, and hungry woman holding a shotgun precariously over her shoulder.

* * *

Nevaeh had taken the liberty to pull out some new, clean clothes for the others while they showered, leaving them folded neatly on their beds and taking their blood and swamp-stained clothes to see what she could do for them. Nick's suit had been the worst. She'd opted to let it soak in bleach for an hour before throwing it into its own separate load, and even that didn't remove all the stain, so she put it through a second cycle, not bothering to spare the bleach.

A little over two hours later, all four had finished their showers and had emerged from their rooms, and they had gravitated into a group once more by subconscious instinct. Nevaeh had offered for them to make themselves comfortable in the parlor, where they were now all spread out on the couches and chairs. Rochelle had managed to get a movie going after sifting through the selection in the cupboard and figuring out how to get the DVD player working, taking extra care to lower the volume so it couldn't be heard outside the house. Nevaeh emerged from the kitchen shortly after with four bowls of hot chicken noodle soup.

Coach, Rochelle, and Ellis took their bowls with eagerness, thanking her profusely as they commented on the delicious smells and heat of the bowls warming their palms. Nick was quieter with his gratifications, grumbling a reluctant but genuine thanks when she handed him his.

"Hot showers and a steaming bowl of chicken noodle soup? Hell, I'm startin' to think we dead," chuckled Coach.

"Thanks again," said Ellis as Nevaeh passed him.

She merely nodded before disappearing from the room once more. Upon reentering the kitchen, she saw Ajax hadn't moved from his seat at the island, having not so much as touched his soup. Picking up her own bowl, she walked over and sat down beside him, nudging him gently with her elbow.

"You need to eat."

He glanced at her before back down, staring at the steaming bowl while fiddling distractedly with his spoon. A frown came to pull at Nevaeh's lips as she watched him. Something was off. She had both heard and felt his stomach growling while she was leaned back against him in the car, but he was hardly showing interest in eating. It was enough to concern her.

"Ajax, why don't you ever want to eat?"

He grimaced, hardly willing to recall the memories—never mind talk about it. Talking about it would only make him think about it, and thinking about it inevitably resurfaced vivid images of dark red blood staining the white ceramic sink and him... the nauseating taste of metallic coating his tongue... bits of flesh stuck in his teeth and under his nails...

Nevaeh was completely thrown back when he was suddenly leaping from his chair and tearing out of the room. She'd nearly fallen backwards with how abruptly he'd moved, unable to save the bowl of soup in time from falling over the side of the island and falling to the floor with a messy clatter. That was hardly her biggest concern, however. From the parlor, a muttered "what the hell was that?" came from Nick.

"Ajax!" Quickly, she hurried in the direction the Hunter had taken off, and she saw the light peeking out from the crack at the bottom of the bathroom door. Frowning, she approached the door and leaned in, features only falling further when she heard him coughing through vaguely labored breaths. "Ajax?" she called quietly.

No answer.

"Honey, what's going on? Are you sick?"

A movement to her right made her look up to see the other four were all huddled down the hall at the doorway leading to the parlor, staring at her with a mixture of caution and wonder.

"Is something wrong?" asked Rochelle; though, the timid edge to her voice and eyes couldn't be hidden as she glanced nervously towards the bathroom.

"I don't think Ajax is feeling good." Nevaeh gave another quiet knock. "Ajax, are you okay?"

When silence was her only answer, Nick was the next to speak up.

"Should we be concerned?"

Catching his tone immediately, Nevaeh sent him a less than appreciative glare, knowing he wasn't implying his concern for Ajax's wellbeing, but for his own. "Everything is fine. Just go back to whatever you were doing."

Although he hardly appeared convinced, the conman let the matter go and turned back into the living room, followed shortly after by Rochelle and Coach, but only after they exchanged timid glances. The only one who lagged behind was Ellis, who had ventured into the hall to look into the kitchen. Upon seeing the broken bowl on the floor, he spared one last glance towards Nevaeh. Realizing she didn't want to be bothered, he silently slipped into the kitchen, leaving her alone in the hall once more.

At seeing she was alone again, Nevaeh reached down for the handle after she heard a flush. "I'm coming in, Ajax." After giving it a couple seconds, she quietly opened the door.

He was knelt on the floor, leaned heavily against the toilet, and he was panting. Shutting the door behind her, she slowly knelt down beside him, and her hand met his back in gentle circles.

"Hey. You okay?" She felt his forehead. "What was that about?"

He wasn't looking at her, head turned down in shame.

"Hey." She rubbed his back to gain his attention, but when he still didn't look at her she resorted to capturing his chin and gently forcing him to turn his head. From this angle, she could see his eyes, and it all but broke her heart at the anguish and shame she saw searing through their depths. Eyes softening, she sighed through her nose. "Ajax, when have I ever judged you? You can talk to me."

His eyes fell. He didn't _want_ to talk about it. Of course, he knew she had no idea what was going on, and that she was worried about him. She had every reason to be. He was a bloody wreck. Hanging his head, he closed his eyes in shame. He had told her he'd nearly killed himself, sure, but what would she think of him if he told her why he didn't want to eat? Why his stomach churned every time he so much as thought about chewing? How did someone explain something like that?

The feeling of Nevaeh's hand on his back brought him from his thoughts, and he turned his head up to her once more.

"We don't have to talk about it right now if you don't want to, but I want you to tell me eventually. Okay?"

Though he turned his head away, he nodded. She continued to rub his back for another moment or so before standing, and he followed suit, following her out of the bathroom and back to the kitchen in silence. When he crossed the threshold, though, he stopped short at the sight of Ellis knelt on the floor, towels in hand.

The young hick's head lifted upon their entry, eyes shifting between them briefly while motioning to the now clean floor.

"Figured I'd clean up while you were takin' care o' Ajax."

Nevaeh's lips twitched faintly. "Thank you."

He smiled. "No problem!"

Passing by him, she approached the sink where the bowls were piled neatly, and she prepared to start cleaning them. While she did this, Ellis had finished what he was doing and was now standing off to the side a bit awkwardly.

He wanted to talk to her, but his tongue was tied. On top of that, he could feel Ajax's eyes drilling into him from where he sat on the counter in the background, and it took everything in him not to glance backwards at the Hunter.

"So, are you going to stare at me all night, or are you going to say something?"

Nevaeh's voice snapped him from his thoughts, and he blushed as he realized he'd been standing there like an idiot. At that moment, as if on cue, Nick walked passed in the hall.

"Consider it a blessing. Usually we can't get him to shut up."

Ellis frowned after him, and Nevaeh's eyes shifted back to Ellis. Forcing down the urge to avert her eyes, he gathered the valor to step forward, offering a friendly smile.

"Ellis, right? Sorry, I'm terrible with names."

He nodded. "Yer name's Nevaeh? Ain't that Heaven spelled backwards?"

"Yes."

From the other room, he heard Nick mutter to one of the others, "I'm surprised he picked up on that." He ignored him.

"Well, shoot, Heaven does exist."

Finally, a smile made it to her lips, and he all but glowed when she chuckled quietly. "So is he always such a jackass?"

" _I heard that_."

Ellis smirked at the conman's irritated tone. "Ah, ya get used to 'im. 'E's got a stick up 'is ass, but in a fight you can be sure he's got yer back."

She smiled faintly. "You know, I admire that."

"...Admire what?"

She placed a clean bowl aside. "When people can compliment others even though they treat them like shit."

A lopsided smile formed on his face. She looked back up at him again after a moment, considering him thoughtfully.

"Sorry for earlier."

He tilted his head. "Whaddya mean?"

"When I kind of freaked out on you in the car. I'm just overwhelmed. I shouldn't have taken it out on you."

He was quiet for a moment, but it didn't take long for him to manage a small smile, as he flung a dismissive hand at her. "Ah, I'm used to it. Nick yells at me all day!"

This time, the smile on her face was genuine, as she resumed her work with a small chuckle. His lips tugged upwards faintly, breathing an inward sigh of relief at feeling the tension finally dissolving between them. Now feeling more confident, he stepped forward and made a motion towards the bowls and pot in the sudsy water.

"Hell, they should o' washed these themselves. Give it here."

Nevaeh looked up at him. "I can handle it—" She suddenly looked up when she saw Ajax walking from the room. Eyes falling, she returned her eyes to Ellis, but all he did was smile and nod over his shoulder.

"Go make sure 'e's alright. Really, I got it."

She didn't move right away, considering him with thoughtful eyes. He was so different from the others. Something about those warm baby blues made her trust hum almost immediately, even though it was against her better judgment. Either he was an exceptional actor, or he was one of those rare types you only saw in movies. Either way, she appreciated the kindness he was expressing towards both her and especially Ajax, and at last, she allowed a small but genuine smile to grace her features. "Thank you, Ellis."

He smiled, and with that she departed in search for Ajax.

* * *

 **Oh, Ajax. Poor bub :c**


	9. Strange

**dwayiam:** It's going to be a bit of a love triangle that only gets increasingly complicated as the story goes on. :[

 **Allan4242564:** I guess I assumed he'd know how to spell it since I always knew how to, haha. Didn't really put much thought into it.

 **GDeNofa:** He's a little shit haha xD His personality is only going to grow as the story goes on, especially when dealing with Nick. Ajax is dealing with some trauma, to put it lightly, and unfortunately what he remembers right now is only the tip of the iceberg.

* * *

 **Chapter #9: Strange**

* * *

Nevaeh opened the door to her room quietly, which had turned into more of her and Ajax's room. The thought of it still felt slightly odd, but so far it had stayed innocent, so she had allowed it to happen. Currently, he was sitting in the window, staring out into the dark abyss. With a knowing stare, she walked over to him and joined him on the cushioned seat, leaning back against the wall.

He had not so much as looked at her. For the first few moments, she was quiet, thinking of a way to start the conversation she knew he was determined to avoid.

"Are you afraid I'll judge you?"

His eyes fell.

Her tongue grazed her bottom lip. "Let's try to figure this out." Shifting so her legs were folded beneath her, she turned to face him. "You can't remember anything before infection, so whatever this is it must have happened within recent months."

His head bowed.

Nevaeh noted this, making sure to keep her voice gentle and void of accusation with her next question. "Did you hurt someone?"

At the way he tensed, she knew she had hit the bull's-eye. This would be a difficult conversation to have without his ability to speak, however, and she knew his shame at being unable to communicate would only make it harder. Biting her lower lip, she scooted off the ledge, which had finally caused him to look in her direction, watching her as she went over to the bed to get her bag. She pulled something out, walked back over, and resumed her spot beside him once more. When she handed him the object, he realized it was a tablet, and that it was opened to a word document.

"I managed to get a charge with the generator power. I figured it would be easier than writing for this occasion."

His eyes lowered towards the floor once more. He didn't want to do this.

"It's okay, Ajax."

His darkened stare remained down at his clawed hands.

"Whatever happened... I know it wasn't on purpose. Just talk to me."

Finally, he glanced at the tablet. Deep down, he knew he had to talk to her eventually, or she would just keep pressing—not that he blamed her. She had every right to know, really, and if she was cautious he couldn't hold that against her, either. Closing his eyes, he swallowed the nervous lump in his throat and forced down the nausea threatening to send him running for the bathroom again.

Reaching down, he picked up the tablet, barely keeping his hand from shaking. He hesitated, fingers hovering over the keyboard, and then he began typing. It still took him awhile, but it was substantially easier than writing it down. Once he was done, like last time, he found himself staring down at the words with grim eyes, reluctant to hand it over to the woman waiting patiently across from him. Then finally, with the acceptation he had no other choice, finally handed it over, not looking at her.

He felt her take it, and his hand fell limply back into his lap, keeping his head down. Every few seconds he would tentatively glance up at her, but other than that avoided looking at her completely, hardly willing to risk seeing her reactions once she reached the good part. What felt like hours passed, and although he could feel her eyes drilling into him he did not look up.

"Ajax, look at me."

Grimacing, he obeyed with heavy reluctance—only to receive a shock upon seeing how calm she was. Not a trace of fear or disgust was visible in her stare as she set the tablet down, and she scooted over so she was sitting beside him. He had looked down at her as she leaned against him, at a loss for words.

"Like I said. It wasn't on purpose. You had no control over what was happening."

He closed his eyes, and he felt her arms wrap around him snugly as she lay her head down on his shoulder. The contact caused him to tense unintentionally, unable to believe she was willingly getting so close to him.

"I'm not scared of you, and you don't disgust me."

For the first few seconds he hesitated, before he finally wrapped his arm around her in return, pressing his forehead against her hair. Shutting his eyes, he took in a deep breath to calm his nerves.

"T... th..." He squeezed his eyes shut, taking another breath to calm himself. "Th... th-ank... y... y-you..."

Nevaeh's eyes opened. Pulling away, she looked up at him in poorly concealed surprise, but then she was smiling. "You don't have to thank me."

His lips curved, and then looked forward when she held up the tablet before them—only for his eyes to widen when he found himself staring back at his image in the reverse camera. Quicker than a cobra strike, he leaned out of the lens' view, but she only pulled him back.

"Get back here, you bum!"

He made a sound between a whine and grumble.

"Who knows the next time I'll get a charge once it dies? Just let me take a few pictures."

He gave her a withering look, frowning at her unappreciatively, but she just lifted the tablet once more and flashed a bright smile at it before he could stop her. The end result was an image of him glaring at her as she smiled stupidly at the camera, seemingly oblivious to the glare she was receiving. Snorting, he tried reaching for the tablet, but she just held it out of his reach, and he growled at her; though, they both knew it held no real threat.

"Oh, relax, would you? Half your face is covered, anyway."

Turning his head away, he rolled his eyes in annoyance.

Holding the tablet up once again, she took him off guard when she wrapped her arm around him, pulling him snugly against her side as she pressed her lips to his cheek, purposely smushing his cheek in, and, finally, he cracked a smile. She snapped a photo. Snorting, smile spreading, he tried leaning away from her, but she just pulled him back by his head, causing his smile to stretch without his control, teeth and all. Wearing a smile of her own, she snapped another photo.

Satisfied, she released him with a giggle and switched the camera to video mode. "Hello, world. My name is Nevaeh, and this doofus, here, is Ajax."

Ajax rolled his eyes, looking away while shaking his head.

"In case you haven't already taken note, yes he's a Hunter. Some of you may call his kind other names. But why isn't he trying to kill me, you ask? Because he sucks at being a Hunter."

Ajax gave her a flattened look and rolled his eyes again. It was then that she suddenly took on a more serious note.

"I met him a little over a month ago. Today is September fourteenth, 2015. I had been travelling by myself when I stumbled across him. He was tied down to the ground, wrists bound in thick cord, and his leg snagged in a bear trap. At first, he was just like any other Hunter, snarling and lashing out at me like a wild animal."

Ajax's eyes fell, not looking at the camera.

"But, as it turned out, he was only trying to scare me off, because he knew I was going to kill him. I was going to kill him. Before meeting him, I had never encountered an infected who had retained any trace of their former humanity... but he was different. I realized this when, as I drew closer, his bravado began to falter, rabid aggression turning into evident fear. Anyone who has encountered the walking dead know they do not express emotions, nor do they show any signs of human intelligence or understanding of us. However, this remarkable individual, here..." She wrapped her arm around Ajax's shoulders. "He has somehow managed to partially combat the virus in more ways than one, starting with human intelligence. He can understand English, read, write, and solve problems just like you and I. However, the infection has affected him physically, giving him the super human strength and stealth of a Hunter, which allows him to leap long distances and land safely from heights that would normally kill a human man. This leads me to believe the bones have gone through mutation as well, making them stronger and more able to absorb shock. His body is free of the cysts and tumors other infected display, and his wounds heal and fight off infection rather than remain as is. I've noticed, though, that he seems to heal at an accelerated rate compared to non-infected humans. Just days ago, he suffered deep gashes and fractures ribs after defending me from another Hunter and what I call a Charger, the infected known for charging at its target with their enlarged right arm. Already, he is nearly back at full capacity." She took a brief pause. "Other physical alterations include his incapability to speak with ease. He is capable of speaking, but the affects of the infection on his vocal cords have impaired his voice, but despite this we have managed to work out a rough form of communication. He has body heat, sleeps, and he eats and drinks normal food and water. He also has one of the strongest heartbeats I've ever heard. Unlike other Hunters, his eyes are intact, but they still hold a sensitivity to light." Turning her head to him, a fond smile graced her lips when he met her gaze. "Hunter or not, he's my best friend."

The look in his eyes could have caused even the coldest of hearts to melt. He didn't smile. He didn't react any further than bowing his head to hide from the camera how his eyes had started to glaze over, or how his features tensed the slightest bit despite his best efforts to remain straight-faced, but he didn't push her away when she wrapped her arm around his shoulders to pull him against her side. She had set the tablet down after another moment, and they just sat in a comfortable silence, staring out the window in pensive thought. He had managed to hold it together, calmed by the feeling of her leaned against his side.

"So, what do you think about our guests?"

His nose wrinkled a bit at the question, fiddling with the tape on his lower leg distractedly. He shrugged.

"That woman Rochelle seems a bit jumpy, but I don't think she's a threat. That Coach guy seems reasonable enough, but I'm not ready to trust him just yet. It's that guy in the white suit we want to look out for."

Ajax's expression said it all, summing up his opinion on Nick with a single, bitter look. Nevaeh leaned back.

"And that kid... Ellis, I think? I think he's cool."

He snorted, causing her to look at him with a small, knowing smirk. "What?"

Deciding to take advantage of the tablet, he picked it up and typed something before handing it to her. " _Don't trust any of them._ "

"I agree, but they haven't tried anything yet, and they could if they wanted to. They outnumber us in both guns and people. Let's just keep an eye out."

He nodded, but it was distracted.

She sighed. Standing, she stretched her arms over her head. "I'm gonna try and get some sleep. You should do the same."

But he shook his head and remained at the window, staring out into the night with vigilant eyes. Nevaeh sat down on the bed and started to remove her boots.

"If you want to keep watch, at least wake me up halfway through."

A faint nod was the only response she got.

"I mean it."

He made a sound similar to "mhm", and she rolled her eyes, knowing full well he had no intentions of waking her up. Then suddenly, she looked up at the sound of someone knocking. Ajax turned his head, growling low in his throat, but she waved him down.

"Come in," she called.

The door edged open, and their guest took a cautious peek in. It was Ellis. He smiled in at her a bit sheepishly.

"Just figured I'd check in before I hit the hay."

Her lips twitched faintly. "We're fine. Ajax is keeping first watch, so you all can go to sleep."

Ellis looked to where the Hunter was perched at the window, only to see Ajax was staring at him intently. Although he couldn't see his eyes, he could see the disdain etched into his features.

"I don't think 'e likes me all that much."

"He doesn't trust easy. Neither do I," Nevaeh responded.

He returned his gaze to her.

"Just don't give him any reason to believe my life is in danger, and you're good."

Ellis regarded her closely, curiosity flecking his baby blues. "So, I guess you guys are pretty close."

"We've risked our lives for each other more than once. He's all I have, and I'm all he has. So, yes. We've grown pretty close."

Ajax's lips twitched.

Ellis nodded. "Well, I hope I can earn yer trust. We all gotta try and stick together durin' times like these, ya know?"

"I guess we'll see."

Another nod. "Well... g'night." Looking towards Ajax once more, he raised his hand in a slight wave, offering Nevaeh one last, small smile before shutting the door behind him with a soft click.

Once she heard his footsteps descending the stairs, Nevaeh looked back at Ajax, but he had already returned his stare out the window. It was obvious he had no interest in discussing the matter any further. So, with a sigh, she drew the covers back and laid down in attempt to get some sleep.

* * *

She was awoken to a hand shaking her gently by the shoulder, stirring her from a deep sleep. Emitting a soft moan, she opened her eyes to look up at Ajax sleepily, and after a quick glance towards the window her foggy senses realized it was the middle of the night.

"Ajax?" she mumbled. "What is it?"

He nodded towards the window. Sighing, she pushed the covers back and, half asleep, shuffled her way over to the window where he was perched. He had glanced back at her as she approached before looking back forward and nodding his head to signal for her to look as well. Joining his side, she looked out. At first, eyes still blurry with sleep, all she was greeted with was vague shapes through the pitch blackness, until he pointed down. After squinting, she saw it.

A figure was crouched on the shed roof positioned up against the fence surrounding the property. It was another Hunter. She had nearly missed him completely because of his black hoodie.

"What's he doing?" she whispered.

Ajax growled low in his throat.

"Surely he knows we're here. Why hasn't he tried getting in?"

He didn't respond, staring intently at their visitor. She could see every muscle in his body was tensed, pulled rigid in alert. Now fully awake, Nevaeh looked back out to stare at the Hunter. He wasn't even looking at them, staring out at the distance through the bars of the fence. She wasn't sure where the thought came from, and if she hadn't just woken up she might have rethought her actions, but her mouth was on automatic.

"Hey!"

Ajax's head snapped to her in alarm. In the same second, the other Hunter's head had snapped up in their direction, causing Ajax to bristle. Rather than attacking them, however, the black-clad Hunter suddenly leapt up, scaling the fence and jumping over the top with the ease of a spider monkey. The second his feet had hit the ground, he tore off at a full sprint, disappearing into the night in a matter of seconds.

Nevaeh and Ajax stared after him in nothing short of confusion.

"What the hell was that...?" Nevaeh muttered.

Ajax looked at her. It was clear by his expression he wasn't pleased, scolding her without words.

"What? If he was a threat, he would have come up here a long time ago."

A contemptuous scoff was his reply.

"What if he's like you?"

He looked back at her.

"I figured I'd give it a shot. Clearly, anything is possible."

His eyes lingered on her for a moment, but rather than arguing with her he just returned his attention forward once more while shaking his head. If he hadn't been as tired as she knew he was, there was no doubt in her mind he would have put up a bigger fight—or maybe even have gone after the mysterious Hunter. A suppressed yawn only confirmed her theory.

"Go to bed."

He turned his head.

"Go. I'm awake now. I can stand watch for a few hours. You need rest, too."

After a little more convincing, he finally accepted the offer for sleep and walked over to the bed, kicking his boots off before rolling over on his side and curling up on the blankets. As expected, he fell asleep almost immediately.

Nevaeh could only shake her head with a soft smile as she watched him drift off. Walking over, she pulled the spare blanket over him before returning to the window. For the next hour, her thoughts lingered on their little visitor. He hadn't attacked. Could he be like Ajax? Had he been following them this whole time? Perhaps she was just letting her imagination run away with her, but she couldn't shake the feeling she had in her gut. For the rest of the night, she watched for any trace of the Hunter, but there was none.

 _Strange..._

* * *

 **Glad all of you are enjoying the relationships between all the characters! Sorry for the long wait. I've got like a million other projects going on right now, but I intend to keep writing this story whenever I find the time. Thanks for sticking with me!**


	10. Long Road Ahead

**Here's another chapter to make up for the previous wait. :) The group's journey starts next chapter!**

* * *

 **Chapter #10: Long Road Ahead**

* * *

Nick's jaw stretched in a wide yawn, rubbing the back of his neck as he trudged down the hall to the kitchen. Half awake, he began rummaging through the cupboards in search of a glass, managing to find a few amongst the top shelves. As he took a long drink, another sigh left him as he turned to lean back against the counter—only to receive a deep scare and nearly threw his glass when he was greeted with the sight of Ajax sitting on the island in the middle of the room.

"Son of a—!"

Ajax just glared at him with the usual, less than impressed stare he had come to greet the conman with. Nick's face hardened at the condescending look, lip twitching in a small, equally derisive sneer.

"You got somethin' to say?"

As usual, Ajax remained silent; though, his upper lip curled into a slight sneer as well. Nick took another sip from his glass, eyes remaining locked on the Hunter competitively.

"Try something. I dare you."

Ajax's eyes narrowed. _Same goes to you, asshole._

It was at that moment that Nick's eyes suddenly shifted towards the doorway at a loud yawn, and a sleepy Ellis entered the room, hair frazzled from sleep. Barely turning his head, Ajax's eyes shifted to regard the mechanic with impassive eyes.

"Mornin'." Ellis went into same cabinet Nick had left open, grabbing a glass of his own.

It remained tense between Nick and Ajax until Nevaeh walked in shortly after, greeting the three men when she saw them. "Morning, gentlemen."

Ellis responded with bright smile. "Mornin'!"

She gave Ajax's shoulder an affectionate pat as she passed, the tension wavering in the room not slipping passed her attention. "Good to see you boys haven't tried killing each other yet."

"I wouldn't jinx it." Coach entered kitchen with Rochelle in tow, and Ellis passed them each a glass with water.

As everyone rose from the haze of sleep, they had all come to sit down in various spots in the kitchen. Ellis had seated himself on the counter, while Coach leaned back against the doorway, and Rochelle hopped up to sit near the sink. Nick had made a point to remain leaned back against the sinks, so he could keep his eyes on Ajax, who was still glaring at him, and Nevaeh took a stool at the island beside the Hunter.

"We'd like to thank you again for letting us stay the night," said Coach suddenly, breaking the semi-awkward silence that had fallen over the group.

Nevaeh glanced back at him. "Where're you headed from here?"

"Caught wind that there might still be a way outta all this," Ellis piped in. "Picked it up on a radio signal a few days back." He shrugged. "Should be about a week's hike from here on foot... maybe a little longer."

Nevaeh looked at him, interest caught. "Where?"

"Chicago," answered Rochelle, before Ellis could. "We couldn't get many details, because the transmission was so rough, but we don't really have anything else going for us so..." She shrugged.

"You should come," said Coach. "No use stickin' around here."

Nevaeh glanced at him, but the motion was fleeting. "I trust the government about as much as I trust a Tank on thin ice."

"So you'd rather stay here when you could be safe?"

"I've been doing fine so far. I don't really have anything to lose, you know?"

"Just your life. No biggie," Nike piped in flatly.

"At this point death doesn't really scare me."

Ajax, finally turning his head away from Nick, looked at her with a frown. Ellis wore a similar frown to the Hunter, eyeing her with vague concern.

"Hey now, that ain't no way to talk. There's plenty to live for! And who knows? Maybe you'll find someone ya know at the safe zone. They could be waitin' for ya."

"Ellis is right," said Rochelle. "You never know."

"My family is dead."

"You don't know th—" Ellis started, but she cut him off.

"My mother died when I was sixteen, and my father was shot while overseas when I was only four months. I didn't talk to the rest of my family, and, as you know, my fiancé was killed when all this started." She met his eyes a bit coldly. "So I know."

All their eyes fell collectively. Even Nick appeared to sympathize with her; though, he made no vocal evidence of this.

"I'm sorry," apologized Rochelle.

Nevaeh gave a resigned sigh. "You didn't know."

Reaching down, Ajax wrapped his arm around her back. A lingering silence followed after that. It was one of those silences you might encounter at a funeral, when you weren't sure whether or not it was appropriate to speak. However, this time it was Nick who broke that silence.

"So you've got nothing to lose. Then what's the point in hiding out in this hellhole for the rest of your life?"

Nevaeh glanced at him.

"I mean, mine as well do something useful. Kick ass, get even? Seems pretty pointless to just sit around if you ask me. We met this guy named Virgil during our travels. He's been going around on his boat looking for survivors. Saved our asses."

"You're implying that I help you, because why the hell not?"

"I'm not saying anything." He shrugged. "Just trying to figure out why you choose to sit around with your thumbs up your ass when you could be doing something a lot more interesting, basically."

Her stare lowered to the floorboards. He was right, she had to admit. There was no point in just staying in one spot—not in a world like this. A part of her knew they were right. She could be helping people. She could have been making a difference—however little it was. The one thing holding her back was what she hadn't admitted to them.

Turning her head, she looked at Ajax, and he looked at her in wonder. She had lied. There was one thing left she had to lose, and it was him. In a matter of weeks, he had become part of her. He was her family, but she was the one and only person on the planet who looked at him and saw anything but a Hunter. By involving him in this, she was putting his life at risk.

He tilted his head at her when she just continued to stare at him, and her eyes fell. But could she really just sit around and do nothing? She didn't know if she could do it—sit around without knowing what was going on with the rest of the world. As a survivor, it was technically part of her duty to her own species to try and save what was left of the population. Not only that, but she was basically a doctor, minus the papers stating so, and she knew she could be of use to people who needed medical treatment. It felt selfish to forsake them, but could she risk forsaking Ajax in the attempt to help anyone else?

"If it's your Hunter you're worried about—" started Coach, but she cut him off promptly.

"Ajax."

He held his hands up. "If it's Ajax you're worried about, as long as he's got our backs... we agree to point our weapons another way. Hell, it might be a benefit to have someone like him on the team."

Ajax narrowed his eye at the older man calculatingly.

"Just come with us," said Rochelle. "You don't have to make up your mind now on coming to the safe zone... if there even is one. We could use the numbers, and so could you. Who knows where the journey will take us?"

Once more, Nevaeh looked to Ajax. This time he made no type of response to her silent stare, offering no sort of answer or guidance. She could see it in his eyes that he knew it wasn't his choice. It was hers, and he respected that. Even so, she knew he was hardly comfortable with the idea of travelling with these four strangers—not only for his safety, but for hers. He didn't trust them, and that would only cause problems in future situations.

"Not to lay pressure on you or nothin'..."

Her eyes flickered up towards Ellis at his timid yet oddly firm voice.

"...but I think you should consider comin' with us. We sure as hell could use yer help, and you might find somethin' out there worth fightin' for. Nick's right. Ain't no use in stayin' 'ere."

Nick returned his stare to her coolly, neither commenting nor reacting any further than that. They were all staring at her at this point, silently awaiting the answer she knew she had to give. She had always been taught to follow her heart, and right now the thought of simply saying "no" as if it didn't somehow affect their lives didn't sit well with her. What if she did say no and one of them died because she wasn't there to cover for them? Of course, she knew fate was fate, and that it wasn't her job to protect a bunch of people she didn't know, but ethically? It wasn't something she could swallow.

"...I'll help you find this supposed base you're talking about..."

As they perked up in interest, Ajax's head snapped to her sharply.

"But I won't be joining you at the safe zone either way. I'll help you get there, but I can't leave Ajax behind." Her eyes flickered to each of theirs, allowing her words to sink in. "If this is going to work, you're all going to have to deal with Ajax being around you 24/7. If any of you threaten him even once, I'm out."

"Deal!" agreed Ellis before anyone else could so much as part their lips to speak.

Rochelle cast a timid but subtle glance in Ajax's direction, but then she was nodding her head as well. "Well... he hasn't tried to kill us so far..."

"Nick?" Coach turned his head over to the conman expectantly, to which he was given a roll of the eyes.

"Yeah, whatever. I'll respect his space if he respects mine."

Ellis couldn't have been smiling any wider, and Nevaeh couldn't help but wonder why he was so excited. He barely knew her. _He's a kid_. It had become apparent to her that he had grown a small crush on her, but she had no intentions of acting on it. Hopefully, it wouldn't become a problem. That's all she needed was for Ajax to go big brother on her. He was already protective enough.

Coach lifted his hands in a shrug. "Well, that settles it, then. Now, there's no tellin' when or if the last chopper lands, so I say we get our asses moving asap."

Nevaeh nodded. "We can take the Wrangler. I just need time to gather some things."

"Dibs on driving," said Nick.

Ellis' head snapped to him. "Oh, come on, man!"

Nevaeh glanced to where Ajax sat at the window of their room, forcing back a sigh as she stuffed a portable med kit into her backpack. His silence and body language hadn't slipped past her attention. It was obvious he wasn't at all happy with the decision made, which she understood, but it wasn't making things any easier.

"Ajax, I can't just turn my back on my species because of trust issues. Just like us, they're trying to survive. It's not like we have anything else to do. We mine as well help who we can."

He was silent, not looking at her. Then all of a sudden, he made a sharp turn and jumped down off the ledge, snatching the tablet off the desk. After typing heatedly for a few moments, he handed it back to her, and she took it a bit resignedly.

 _It's safe here. Why should we risk our lives for a bunch of strangers that pointed guns at us?_

"You know what I'm going to say to that."

He scoffed, looking away.

"Ajax, I pointed my gun at _you_ , remember? Hell, I was a second away from slicing your head off your shoulders, and look at us now."

He didn't answer, but she knew he was hearing her.

"Yes, it's safe here, but it's pointless staying here. With no people, it would be a meaningless existence. We can help people."

Looking at her, he took the tablet back. _Until one day one of them decides they don't appreciate the help and tries to kill you. There are only two kinds of people who survive in a world like this, Vaeh. Killers and dumb luck. Keep crossing paths with strangers, and you're going to meet one that isn't so friendly._

Lowering the tablet, she smiled at him halfheartedly. "I love you, too, Ajax."

Another curt scoff was his response, rolling his eyes as he shoved her by the arm with a growl. _I'm serious_ , his eyes read fiercely.

Her shoulders fell. "I need to _do_ something, Ajax. I can't just _survive_. There are people out there who need help. Like Ellis said... we need to stick together."

He frowned. Ellis again. Again, he rolled his eyes and typed something else. _You don't even know Ellis_.

"I think it's safe to say he's pretty harmless... at least towards people. Nick is the only one I'm really worried about... and maybe Coach."

He shook his head and jabbed one last response into the tablet. _I'm only agreeing to this for your sake, but if they think I'm going to be their fucking attack dog they have something else coming to them. I'm not an animal._

"And they will see that with time. It took me a little while, too, remember? They'll come around... but you have to let them."

Setting the tablet on the bed, he made for the window once more, and upon looking down she saw the brief message he had left.

 _Going to stand watch on the roof._

She sighed.

A little later, she was just finishing sealing her tablet in its waterproof case when she heard a knock. "Come in."

Ellis entered. "Howdy."

She looked up from her seat on the bed. "Hi."

He shut the door behind him before stuffing his hands in his pockets. "Where's Ajax?"

She nodded upwards. "Roof."

He looked up briefly before returning his eyes to her. "What's 'e doin' up there?"

"He's a little upset with me, but he'll get over it."

A knowing smirk ghosted over his lips. "Not too keen on sharin' you with us?"

"He's just scared something will happen to me. He doesn't think I should be risking my neck for a bunch of strangers."

"Hell, we all started out as strangers. Met up tryin' to get to the same chopper way back in the beginnin' o' all this. Guess we just figured it was best to stick together. We're a team now."

She hummed softly in reply, fiddling distractedly with her knife. "No offense, but I'm helping you because it's the right thing to do... not because I'm trying to make friends." She met his eyes. "I don't intend to go to the safe zone with you guys. My place is here, helping people who need it."

His eyes fell, and he shrugged a shoulder. "Maybe you'll change yer mind. If there is a safe place away from all this... I'm sure they could use a person like you."

This time, her eyes narrowed at him the slightest bit. "You don't know me... at all. How could you possibly make a statement like that?"

He shrugged again. "Call it instinct."

She stared up at him curiously, when their attentions were turned to the window at a scratching sound. Ajax appeared a moment later, jumping down and grabbing onto the bottom of the window before pulling himself up back into the room with a lithe grace—only to pause when he saw Ellis.

The young mechanic raised his hand in a single wave. "All clear?"

Ajax just stared at him. Shifting a bit in his stance, Ellis frowned a little when the only response he received was a small sneer, and he didn't miss how the Hunter's eyes almost seemed to give him a disdainful onceover.

Jumping down from the window, Ajax joined Nevaeh and sat down beside her. She gave him a look at the subtle yet obvious display of dominance. He may as well have said "mine". Rolling her eyes, she turned her head away while shaking it.

Seeming to get the hint, Ellis pressed his lips together. "I think that's my cue to leave." Despite his defeat, he managed a smile anyway. "The others wanna head out soon. You almost ready?"

She nodded. "I'll meet you outside."

Smile renewed, he smiled and made his leave. Once sure he was gone, she turned her head to Ajax with a less than impressed stare.

"Mature."

He shrugged, and she scoffed, shoving him by the head. "This is going to be a fun road trip..."

* * *

 **Well, that's going to be a fun car ride! Poor Nevaeh :P**


	11. Revenge

**Kyokkou:** There will be substantial tension between Ajax and Ellis for awhile. The others get irritated with Ellis all the time, so I guess I'm writing him right! xD I adore both Ellis and Ajax, but it's definitely going to be a game of tug o' war between the two when it comes to Nevaeh (if a bit more aggressive on Ajax's end).

 **lovesickBlondie:** So glad to hear! Continue to enjoy.

 **Croziff:** ;)

* * *

 **Chapter #11: Revenge**

* * *

Nevaeh sat leaned back against Ajax, fighting sleep as she stared out the window at the passing scenery. Currently, they were passing a long stretch of field, where a few stray infected roamed aimlessly, lacking any sort of purpose. They had nowhere to go. No one to go to. Their existence was merely to exist, driven by an uncontrollable, animal lust for sustenance. Good people turned into rabid, cannibalistic monsters. Even the deepest feelings of love were wiped clean from the mindset after the turning process, leading people to kill the ones they once loved enough to die for. Without realizing it, her thoughts had veered to her fiancé once more, and her heart gave a painful clench in her chest.

This didn't evade Ajax's ever-sharp perception. Tearing his bleary gaze from the window, he looked down at her. She appeared calm, but he had felt the tension in her body, and he hadn't missed the look in her eyes as she stared out at the field. He wondered what was on her mind, but he knew better than to address the matter with the others in such close proximity. So, he just settled for subtly nudging the back of her head with his nose, and when she looked up at him he offered a sympathetic smile. To his glee, she smiled back, seeming to cheer up a bit on the spot, before returning her gaze out the window once more. His smile grew gently when she leaned against him and rested her head on his shoulder, giving into her tired eyes.

Nick had taken Ellis' place between Ajax and Rochelle after Ellis had relieved him of his driving shift, and the conman had been staring at Nevaeh and Ajax from the corner of his eye for the past five minutes, eyeing Ajax up and down as he interacted with her. It was a bizarre sight to witness, as she leaned against him like he were a long time friend, unfazed by the fact she was snuggling up to a creature known for tearing its prey to shreds like a wild tiger. Yet, although he'd never admit it out loud, he had to accept that Ajax was no ordinary Hunter. Not once had he looked at Nevaeh with anything aside from protectiveness and admiration, and the only time he had displayed aggression towards any of them was when he felt they were threatening her directly. It was a mystery.

He didn't like mysteries. Looking back down at the map spread across his lap, he nudged the back of Ellis' seat with his foot.

"Hey, Ellis, pull over at the next gas station. Map says there's one within the next few miles."

"Well, duh, Nick. I know how road trips work."

Nick sent him a look using the rearview mirror, and Rochelle's lips gave a slight twitch.

They arrived at the gas station roughly five minutes later, all taking the opportunity to get out and stretch their aching legs. Walking around the car, Ajax got down low before springing up to the roof connecting the store to the gas pumps. He landed silently on all fours before rising to his full height, giving their surroundings a thorough onceover. Casting a brief glance his way, Nevaeh unsheathed one of her swords and started walking towards building while Nick and Coach got to filling the gas tank and spare jugs. As she was walking, however, she looked over her shoulder at the sound of Rochelle calling after her quietly.

"Mind if I tag along?"

"Just don't use that unless absolutely necessary." She nodded to the gun in her hand. "The less noise the better."

The older woman nodded, and they stepped over the threshold, the bell at the top of the door giving off a light ding with their entry. Nevaeh held her hand up for Rochelle to stop. Extending her katana, she banged it against the metal doorframe a few times and waited. A couple seconds ticked by, and a small shuffle and crackling of broken glass beneath boots reached their ears, causing Rochelle to clench the axe in her hands. A moment later, a few infected came staggering out from behind the shelves, and Rochelle tensed, when she suddenly looked to Nevaeh as she stepped forward. With a fluid grace, all three infected were down after a few clean maneuvers. Picking up a rag hanging from one of their pockets, she cleaned her blade.

"You start at this end, and I'll check out the back."

Not knowing what to say, Rochelle nodded dumbly. "...Okay."

From atop the roof, Ajax's head lifted when his acute hearing picked up what sounded like the distant sound of tired rolling over pavement. Turning his head, his eyes narrowed at the sight of two approaching vehicles in the far distance, which neither Coach, Ellis, or Nick had taken notice of yet. Lowering to a crouch, he made a sound to gain their attentions, and they looked up at him in question before turning their heads in the direction he was pointing. At seeing what had the Hunter at full alert, they turned around fully. Nick's eyes narrowed. Having been filling the gas tank of the car, Ellis stood to his full height, shotgun rested on his shoulder.

Nevaeh had just been heading back towards the exit of the shop when she heard Nick calling to them from outside.

 _"Hey, we got company!"_

She stopped short, as Rochelle looked up from where she was stuffing bottles of water into her bag. Back on the roof, Ajax growled low in his throat and ducked down low so he wouldn't be seen. Taking cover behind the wall near the door, Nevaeh peeked around cautiously, and Rochelle went to step out, but she held her back with her arm, causing the darker-skinned woman to look at her in question.

"What?"

"Stay in here for now."

They watched in silence as the two trucks rolled to a stop in front of the station, where a handful of men proceeded to pile out one by one, guns in hand. None of them made any move for a friendly greeting, staring at each other with intent stares. Even Ellis hadn't moved from behind the truck, eyeing them with a mixture of curiosity and caution. Atop the roof, Ajax shrank further back, lips pulling back in a sneer.

It was _them_.

Immediately, his mind screamed at him to warn the others, but he wouldn't be able to do that without potentially starting a gun war. The second those men saw him they would start shooting, an unwise battle to have in the middle of a gas station.

"Morning," Coach finally greeted; though, a deaf man would be able to hear the apprehension in his otherwise friendly tone.

"Well, good morning to you, too, friend," said the one up front. He had slicked back black hair and sported a leather jacket. "Looks like we stumbled across the same watering hole."

"We don't want no trouble," said Coach. "Ain't no one stoppin' you from fillin' your tanks."

The black-haired man, who appeared to be the leader, smiled, but it was viper-like. "Well, thank you kindly."

Ajax bristled.

Coach exchanged glances with Nick, who was the next one to speak. "Ellis, you fill up that tank, yet?"

"Yeah, 's all set," he answered, but his eyes never left the group of men.

"Good. We'll just be on our way, then."

However, when he went to take a step, suddenly he had a gun pointed at his chest. "Now, now, you can't leave yet."

Slowly, Coach and Nick's hands rose, and behind the truck Ellis tensed.

"You, too, boy," said another.

Slowly, Ellis followed Coach and Nick's example, setting his shotgun down before lifting his hands. "Hey, man, we don't want any trouble!"

"And there won't be any!" chimed the leader. "So long as you do as we say. Just kindly hand over all your guns, and we'll be on our merry way."

"Ain't happening," said Nick.

The black-haired man's eyebrows rose high on his forehead. "No? Well, hell, I'll just shoot you, then. Makes no difference to me, really." He lifted his gun and cocked it.

"Whoa, whoa, hold on!" shouted Coach.

"Get the hell down on your knees." When they didn't move right away, he snapped, "Now!"

Nick was glaring at him, but he seemed to accept he was outnumbered and outgunned, so with a begrudging submissiveness, he got down on his knees beside Coach, where two of the other men made quick work of disarming them. Looking towards Ellis, the leader pointed his gun at him.

"You, too, redneck."

With grim eyes, Ellis obeyed, keeping his hands raised as he walked over, and he was roughly shoved down to his knees beside Nick.

Having been watching the whole thing, Nevaeh's eyes had widened.

"We have to do something..." whispered Rochelle.

Nevaeh wracked her brain for ideas. They didn't have much time. Atop the roof, Ajax watched the scene before him with darkened eyes. Nevaeh was still in the store. They didn't know she was here yet. Turning his head, he spotted a hatch on the roof above the store and wasted no time in crawling on his belly towards it. Once there, he carefully opened it and poked his head through, spotting them hiding near the door.

Reaching down with one arm, he snapped his fingers, and they looked up sharply. He motioned for them to come hastily, and Nevaeh nodded to Rochelle.

"Go," she whispered.

Rochelle quickly made her way across the store, ducking behind the shelves to avoid the windows, as Nevaeh peeked around to make sure the men aren't looking before darting passed the door. However, her presence didn't go fully undetected, for one of the men's heads snapped in her direction just as she was out of sight.

"You hear that?"

Ellis exchanged nervous glances with Nick.

"Hear what?" another grunted.

"I think there's someone in the store."

Glancing back at him, the leader looked down at the three men knelt before him. "You got friends hidin' in there?"

"No," answered Nick firmly. "It's just us."

"Bullshit. Johnny, go take a look."

The man presumed to be Johnny headed towards the store. In haste, Nevaeh ushered Rochelle over.

"Hurry!"

Rochelle hurried over as Nevaeh knelt down to give her a boost, growing impatient when the other woman just looked up at Ajax hesitantly.

"Rochelle!"

Finally, she stepped into her hands and reached up. Ajax grabbed her and pulled her up through hatch, instructing her to lay flat once on the roof. She did as she was told, and he went back down for Nevaeh, quickly pulling her up just as Johnny was stepping through the doorway. Quickly, he rolled out of sight.

After giving it a moment, he cautiously peeked back down to see the man had disappeared into one of the aisles. With narrowed eyes, he rolled back onto all fours, much to Nevaeh's alarm.

"Ajax, what are you doing?"

He held up a finger to his lips before nimbly slipping down through the hatch and landing silently on all fours, ducking behind a shelf just as Johnny stepped back out into sight. She could see the darkened look in his eyes as he crouched down low on all fours, waiting for the intruder to pass him, and it was then she realized exactly what he was planning to do. It was just as the man was taking the fatal step past the crouching Hunter that Rochelle dared to peek over, as Ajax stood to his full height and crept up behind his prey. It happened in the blink of an eye, like a viper strike, and Johnny was falling lifelessly to the floor with a snapped neck.

Rochelle's hand pressed over her mouth to stifle the gasp that left her as Ajax picked up the gun off the floor, complete with a silencer, and he looked up to Nevaeh. He didn't have to say anything before tossing it up, and she caught it with two hands. After checking how many bullets it had, she looked back down at him as he signaled up to her, and despite the concern lighting up her eyes she nodded in understanding. With that, he crept towards the entrance, keeping low.

Rochelle looked at her in question. "What is he doing?"

"Saving our asses." Wielding her new gun, she started crawling on her belly towards the edge of the roof, much to Rochelle's alarm.

She whispered sharply, "Nevaeh!"

Nevaeh peered over the edge, making a quick head count before glancing to the store's entrance, where she saw Ajax poke his head out of the doorway. She could feel her heart racing. One false move, and someone would be dead.

Ajax's eyes narrowed, ducking back behind the wall when one of them turned his head his way.

"Hey, Johnny, you alive or what?"

Ajax smirked. At receiving no answer, the remaining six men exchanged looks.

"Yo, Johnny!"

Taking a step back, Ajax readied himself. Inhaling a deep breath, he released a piercing shriek, effectively startling everyone outside.

"Jesus!"

"We got a Leaper!"

Coach exchanged looks with Nick and Ellis, all of them thinking the same thing. The front man turned to his men, pointing sharply towards the store with a gloved hand.

"Go take care of that thing before it gets out in the open! I can handle these three."

They obeyed without a single question, the lot of them heading into the building guns cocked. Little did they know this was exactly what Ajax wanted. Sneering, he retreated to the back of the store where the hatch was, and with a single leap he was heaving himself back up onto the roof and shutting the hatch just as they were entering through the doorway. He didn't so much as pause to regard the two women as he rushed to the edge of the roof, only pausing to ensure the leader wasn't looking before taking the leap.

Nevaeh barely stopped herself from screaming his name; though, she did run to the roof's edge just in time to see the Hunter plow the man straight into the ground, knocking the gun from his hand with impact. Nick, Ellis, and Coach had all visibly jumped with his sudden appearance, looking down at their unconscious captor with widened eyes.

"Holy shit!" exclaimed Nick.

"What the hell?!"

All their heads snapped around at the voice to see one of the men standing at the doorway, eyes wide as he eyed Ajax and their fallen leader.

"It's got Lucas! _Over here_!"

Lips pulling back in a snarl, Ajax charged at him.

"Ajax, don't!" Nevaeh shrieked. Her voice proved to be a useful distraction, however, causing the man's focus to break away from Ajax for a split, precious second, allowing the Hunter to close the gap between them without a trigger being pulled.

He went down with a scream, gun going off as Ajax whacked it from his hands in a vicious attack. In one swift motion, he had grabbed the man by the back of the head and smashed it against the wall, cracking his skill open with a single blow.

"JESUS CHRIST!" hollered Nick.

Ellis, however, had made a mad dash for the gun, snatching it up off the ground, but in that same moment two more of the men had appeared in the doorway. Ajax's arm swiped clear under one of their legs, knocking him to the ground with a single blow before pouncing him. A deafening gunshot rang through the air immediately after, causing his head to snap up just as one fell dead before him. Turning his head over his shoulder, he saw Nick with his finger over the trigger, having had a spare pistol hidden in his suit.

That left two more.

They all hit the deck when a shot was fired through the glass from inside the store, the bullet missing Ellis' head by a hair. They scrambled for cover, diving behind the trucks and around the corner of the building.

Nevaeh's head snapped to her left when the hatch suddenly blew open, as one of the men burst through in a fury. Rochelle emitted a startled shriek, but before either women even had a chance to raise their guns, there was an infuriated screech as Ajax landed on the roof behind him. His head whipped about in alarm as Ajax seized him, hauling him onto the roof like a lion dragging its kill, as he screamed and flailed, cursing up a storm.

" _Charley_!"

Both Ajax and his captive's bodies jerked when the man below grabbed his partner by the legs in an effort to pull him back down through the hatch. Keeping his hold on his captive, Ajax reached back and pulled the gun from his belt. Sticking it through the gap between the man he held and the hatch wall, he pulled back on the trigger, and the other fell dead with a spurt of blood.

" _Jesus_ —!"

With an animalistic snarl, Ajax all but threw the man in his grasp onto the roof, causing Rochelle to release a startled yelp as he landed at her feet, but he didn't have a chance to so much as look up at her before Ajax was on him once more. Grabbing him under the jaw and by the top of his head, he gave a sharp twist, and there was a sickening crack before the man fell still beneath him.

Silence.

Time seemed to stop for those few breaths. Rochelle's eyes were still wide, staring down at the body in poorly concealed horror. It seemed the death of an actual human unsettled her greatly, but it had been a necessary kill. When Ajax had finally moved, she had scooted back feverishly to put distance between herself and him, clearly shaken, but he had just cast her a withering glance before turning away with a quiet snort. Promptly after, Nevaeh had grabbed him and pulled him into a tight, almost panicked embrace, clinging to him as the adrenaline wore off.

"Don't _ever_ pull a stunt like that again!" she breathed.

The concern she expressed for his safety never failed to warm his heart, but the moment was short-lived when Nick's voice was heard calling to them from below. Pulling away, she ran to the edge of the roof, peering down to see the three men staring up expectantly. Upon seeing her, they visibly relaxed, and Rochelle joined her side a moment after.

"We're okay!" called Rochelle.

"Thank God," muttered Coach.

It had taken some more gentle convincing on Nevaeh's part to get Rochelle to allow Ajax within ten feet of her in order to carry her back down from the roof, and she had put distance between them the moment her feet touched the ground, running back to her teammates as they walked over to join them.

"Well, that was a shit show," murmured Nick, as his eyes scanned over the carnage laid at the door of the store. His eyes then turned sharply downwards at a groan, and his gun flew up once more at seeing their unconscious captor was stirring. "Stay right there, asshole."

However, that was all he managed before he was being shoved aside as Ajax strode passed him. The man on the ground had barely sat up before Ajax's hands were clasping around his collar, and he slammed him back down to the dirt with a merciless force.

"Whoa, easy!" exclaimed Coach.

Ajax had leaned in with a guttural growl rumbling in the back of his throat, lips pulled back to expose his teeth in a snarl as he glowered into the man's eyes with a seething hatred.

"Well, this looks personal," muttered Nick.

Nevaeh's eyes had grown a wondering glint, noting the pure hatred she saw flooding Ajax's gaze. This wasn't just protectiveness. This was something more. He _knew_ this man. "Ajax, who is this?" she asked at last.

Without looking at her, he placed his hand at his leg where the bear trap had been clamped, and her eyes widened as it registered. " _Him?_ "

Ajax nodded, never tearing his eyes from his captive.

"What's going on...?" piped in Rochelle in quiet wonder.

The man, Lucas, who had remained silent up until now, suddenly seemed to squint up at Ajax, his previous caution making way for blatant disbelief. "You're that Leaper we strung up!"

Ajax sneered.

"Hell, I should o' killed your ass when I had the chance! Knew you was trouble." His eyes took a turn towards Nevaeh. "He your pet or somethin' now?"

Before she could so much as think to answer, Ajax had seized him by the jaw and jerked his face back to him. _Do not look at her,_ his eyes clearly said.

"What the hell is this?" asked Nick, suspicious lacing his every word.

"Just unfinished business," Nevaeh bothered to answer, her own eyes having taken on a chilled edge as she stared at their hostage. "He has whatever is coming to him."

Ellis looked back towards Ajax, a mixture of curiosity and unease in his baby blues. Ajax's hand had slipped around the man's jaw, fingers digging into his skin as he glowered into his eyes, the seething hatred in his own never faltering. Despite knowing what was coming to him, Lucas never broke his gaze, holding it with a fearless defiance.

"Do your worst, freak," he sneered.

He gagged when Ajax's hold on his throat tightened, gradually digging his fingers further in until his air was cut off completely. At this point, the defiant glint in Lucas' eyes had given partial way to make room for instinctive alarm as he began to struggle against him, hands coming up to claw at Ajax's.

It happened so fast that it left them all a bit staggered, when Ajax's hand had suddenly given a sharp twist, and a sickening crack later Lucas was falling limp. A quiet gasp had left Rochelle at the abruptness of the kill. Coach, too, appeared taken aback, having taken a step backwards after witnessing Ajax effortlessly snap his neck. The only ones who didn't appear affected were Nevaeh and Nick, while Ellis stood off to the side in silence. There was something strange in his baby blues that exposed his naivety in full. To kill a zombie running at you, teeth snapping, was one thing, but to witness the death of actual people was something none of them were experienced with. It was obvious. The only one who didn't look utterly shaken was Nick.

When Ajax had finally risen back to his feet, Coach and Rochelle had made sure to put some extra distance between them, but he ignored them, keeping his eyes locked on the body of his captor. An almost suffocating silence fell over the area after that, until finally Nevaeh decided to speak.

"We stay here tonight," she said at last, breaking the silence. "We can move the bodies and stay here for the night. It's almost sundown. The windows are boarded, and the door has a lock. If we're quiet, we'll be alright."

"I-I can't stay here," squeaked Rochelle.

"Then sleep in the car." Nevaeh cast her a hardened look. "You're not used to killing. I get it... but it's something you're going to have to be ready for, because this probably isn't the last time it's going to happen."

Rochelle was silent, staring at her.

"This is the last stop for miles. Infected such as Hunters will be even more active now that the light is going, and they have far more developed senses than we do. Blindly fighting infected in the dark is not how we're going to sirvive."

"So we stay here... until someone or some _thing_ else comes around," said Nick.

"Then we'll deal with it like we've been dealing with everything else." As if to make her point, she fit her gun back into its holster after reloading it. She looked to Ajax. "You mind keeping watch while we move the bodies?"

He gave a stiff nod and turned away, happy to escape the looks he was receiving from the others. It didn't come as much of a surprise that they seemed even more cautious of him now, despite the fact he had just saved all their lives. He was what they called a Hunter, and that's all they would ever see him as. That was just how it was.

Grimly, he straightened after landing on the roof, and he turned his gaze out at the surrounding horizon.

They had made quick work of moving the bodies aside and locking themselves up inside the store, picking their own secluded corners, as usual. Ajax had slipped down through the hatch to check on Nevaeh briefly before returning to his perch, volunteering to keep first watch.

Once he was gone once more, however, another from the group had taken interest in Nevaeh's wellbeing. Looking in the direction the Hunter had departed, Ellis contemplated his options for a moment before standing and making his way through the store into the back aisles. He eventually found Nevaeh in the back room, and her head lifted when she saw him approaching, to which he offered a slight wave.

"Howdy."

She was quiet at first. "Hey."

He seemed to hesitate, but then made a vague hand gesture to the floor near where she sat. "Mind if I sit down?"

Though he thought she would say no, which she almost did, she finally motioned for him to sit. A smile tugged at the corners of his mouth, and he took a seat across from her, leaning back against the wall angled around them before handing her one of the cans he held in his hands. It was an Arizona tea.

"Found 'em in the back o' the freezer..." he offered humbly.

Leaning forward, she took it slowly, finally allowing the smallest of smiles in return. "Thank you."

Appearing to gain a bit more confidence, he smiled back. "Too bad all the beer was gone."

She chuckled.

A brief silence lingered between them.

"So, you've been with the others since the beginning?" she asked.

He nodded whilst resting his forearms on his knees, fiddling with the can in his hands. "Yep. Ran into each other in Savannah on our way to the evac... only to find they'd had a change o' plans. Left us on the roof as the choppers flew off. We managed to escape, though, and on a few different occasions... but shit keeps happenin'."

"Well, that's reassuring."

"Hey, we're all still here. We'll be alright." He sat back, appearing to hesitate once more. "I'm sorry 'bout yer family," he murmured.

"It was a long time ago."

Taking notice of her offhanded answer, he dropped it, deciding to try a different approach in conversation. "Y'know, Ajax has had me thinkin'..."

She quirked her eyebrow.

"You think there's others out there like 'im? Hell knows he's the first decent zombie _I've_ ever encountered... Just seems hard to believe 'e's the only one o' his kind, ya know?"

She sipped at her tea. "It's crossed my thoughts, yes."

"Wonder what it is. Think 'e'll ever talk again?"

"He can talk. It's just difficult for him, but with proper exercises I think he could get his voice back, yes."

He nodded. "Heh..." He smirked. "Wonder what 'e'd say to me... or Nick."

Her lips twitched as sipped on her tea. "Well, I mean if you're that interested I could always have him write it down."

He grinned.

Ajax returned from watch later that night after Coach had taken over; though, he had stopped suddenly upon entering the back room. Head tilting upwards, he sniffed the air before promptly frowning at Nevaeh, who sat on the floor staring up at him.

"Don't give me that look. He just wanted to talk."

The frown didn't leave. Rolling his eyes, he walked over and laid down, facing the wall with his back to her, but she wouldn't be ignored so easily. Scooting closer, she reached down and massaged his head through his hood, watching as he visibly relaxed. She just continued to rub his back until he fell asleep.

* * *

 **Poor Ajax is still the odd duck out. At least he got even. Don't worry, love. Nevaeh's got your back!**


	12. Dangerous

**HELLO, ALL! Sorry for the wait! I have about a million projects I'm working on aside from assignments and work. :/ Thank you for your patience! xoxo**

* * *

 **Chapter #12: Dangerous**

* * *

"So, tell me again why we're risking passing through a zombie-infested town rather than just cutting through the forest?"

Nevaeh checked her ammo as she walked. "Because the forest is all swamp, and town will be faster and easier to navigate. If we get ambushed, it'll be almost impossible to run through all that mud and water, and we'll be dead before we know it. On top of that, Ajax won't be able to smell nearby threats due to everything being in water." She looked back at him. "Anymore questions?"

He just sent her a look from beneath his eyelashes. Satisfied, Nevaeh crept along the side of the building they were approaching, back pressed against the rough brick. With the caution of a doe entering the meadow, she edged her way to the end of the wall before taking a careful peek around the corner. A few infected were milling about, but not many—a dozen, at the most.

She turned back to the others' awaiting stares. "There aren't many around. We can take them." Her eyes shifted to Ajax beside her. "Give us coverage from above. See if you can spot any food marts or pharmacies."

He nodded, taking a couple steps back from the wall before making an impressive leap upwards. His hands grabbed onto the edge of the roof, and he heaved himself over the ledge.

She looked back at the others. "We ready?"

Ellis was the first to nod, followed by the others, and Nick pulled out his machete. "Let's do this, then."

At once, they all ran out from behind the safety of the building, alerting the infected to their presence like a cafeteria dinner bell. Within seconds, they were descending upon the survivors with the ferocity of a wolf pack. Nevaeh's swords unsheathed with a sharp ring, beheading the few headed in her direction with clean, calculated swings. They proceeded to cut their way through town, only running into two special infected so far: a Spitter, which Nick had taken out, and a Jockey, which Ajax had taken the liberty of pouncing from above just before it sprung at Coach. For the most part, Ajax had followed them along the rooftops, keeping an eye on their surroundings and occasionally jumping down to assist Nevaeh if a few more infected surrounded her than he liked.

All of a sudden, a screech caused Nevaeh's head to snap up to where the Hunter took a great leap off the roof he was perched on across the street, a look of genuine panic across his features. It was at that moment she whipped around at a deafening bellow, but all she had time to do was widen her eyes before she was being tackled to the side, dodging the Charger's huge fist by a hair. Ajax had to throw himself aside to avoid the blow as well, rolling agilely back onto all fours and looking to where the infected plowed straight into a wall of a building. Turning his head, his eyes met Ellis' directly, who had been the one to tackle Nevaeh out of the way. It took a bit of willpower to shake the vague irritation swelling in his chest, shaking his head at himself. _She's safe. That's all that matters._

He turned back on the Charger with a snarl, lips pulling back to reveal his teeth, and he was bolting towards it without a second's thought. Ellis ran to assist him. As Ajax was about to make the pounce, however, the Charger had turned unexpectedly, taking him off guard and causing him to skid to a clumsy halt as it swung its huge, meaty fist. There was no dodging it, and he was sent crashing to the ground on his back.

 _"Ajax!"_ Nevaeh screeched.

Ajax clawed at the Charger's hand as it closed around his torso, face set in a snarl; though, he was saved at the last second by Ellis, who got there just in time. Wielding his machete, he drove the bloodied blade straight into the Charger's spine, and the beast's body gave a horrible lurch, bellowing shrilly, when its grip suddenly slackened. At feeling the large hand loosen, Ajax was able to break free and jumped off to the side, only to circle back around on a quick pivot, seizing the Charger by the head, and with a single twist its neck snapped with a horrible crack.

"Go!" Nevaeh took off down the street, Ajax in hot pursuit.

Together, they lead the group, tearing through the streets in a storm of blades and guns. Ajax ran ahead to tackle down infected, crushing their skulls and snapping their necks as Nevaeh covered him and the others with her katana.

"Ellis, look out!" shouted Nick.

Ellis had whipped around, baby blues widening at the sight of a glowing, green ball of acidic spit headed directly at him. Within the same second, a figure had rammed into him from the side, and he was sent flying into a cluster of trashcans, landing with noisy clatter just as the spit ball impacted the ground and covered everything within a ten foot radius in sizzling acid.

"Jesus Christ!" came Nick's strident yell. "You okay, Ellis?"

"Yeah, I'm good..." Ellis muttered, hand having risen to rub the back of his head. Coach had come over to help him detangle from the cans, taking him by the arm and heaving him up.

"He sent you _flying_. Shit."

"What the hell even happened?" He was still rubbing his head.

"That Hunter rammed into ya like a train. Sent you at least ten feet."

Ellis' head lifted to Coach, and then his eyes were searching the area for Ajax, only to spot him in tangles with another Hunter a good thirty feet away. It was an intimidating sight to behold, as the two scrapped in a frenzy of claws and teeth, resembling two Rottweilers more than men. Nick had hastily steered clear when they drew a bit too close to him for his comfort, white knuckling his machete as he watched them with vaguely appalled eyes.

Finally, Ajax was able to kick his opponent off of him, using all his leg power to throw him aside. There, Nevaeh took the opportunity to deliver a harsh blow to the Hunter's head, which sent it reeling, giving her just enough time to bring her machete down on its neck.

Ellis watched as the head came to a rolling halt at his feet, leaving a trail of blackened blood in its wake, and he forced back a grimace at the gruesome sight of the mouth hanging wide open, blood-stained teeth containing bits of flesh. Fighting off the urge to be sick, he quickly turned his head away.

At that moment, the telltale shrieks of an approaching horde caused all of their heads to snap up at once, each of their eyes widening in alarm.

"This way!" shouted Rochelle.

They bolted. Despite the superior speed he was capable of, Ajax kept pace with Nevaeh, sticking loyally to her side while glancing back every couple seconds to ensure there was no danger drawing too close to her. Nick lead the group, charging at a full sprint towards a boarded up store down the street. When they finally reached it, however, the doors would not budge.

"IT'S FUCKING LOCKED!"

Nick's heightened fight-or-flight instincts nearly caused him to shoot Ajax with how quickly the Hunter appeared at his side. He promptly shoved the conman aside before taking a single step back and sending the door blowing inwards with a single kick. Nevaeh was the first to run inside, followed by Ajax, then Ellis, then the other three. Once inside, Nick and Coach got to work barricading the door while Nevaeh, Ellis, Ajax, and Rochelle set out to secure the area and make sure no infected were inside. As usual, Nevaeh tag teamed with Ajax, who had jumped up onto the shelves with the stealth of a panther.

On the opposite end of the small store, Ellis took the liberty to explore the pharmacy that was located in the back. His face had lit up a bit at seeing the medicine-lined cabinets. Slinging his gun over his shoulder, he placed his hands on the counter and leaned over to give the area a cautious onceover. At seeing no threat, he quietly slipped over the counter, boots landing on the carpet with a quiet thud.

"Ellis."

He turned his head just as Nevaeh was hopping over the counter with Ajax at her heels.

"Don't make the same mistake I did." Reaching back, she pulled out one of her katana and went ahead of him.

Ellis watched after her, only for his head to turn to Ajax as the Hunter appeared at his side, sparing him only a single, impassive glance as he passed. After quickly catching up with Nevaeh, the Hunter guided her behind him, taking the lead as they ventured into the darkness and leaving Ellis to stare after them with a small frown.

After a thorough search, and a few extra precautions in barricading the doors, Ajax was the one to finally deem the place secure. Only after Nevaeh had second this decision, however, did the others allow themselves to relax even slightly.

Nevaeh had opted to take first watch, climbing up through the roof hatch with Ajax's help, who had followed after her promptly. He had ignored her when she had insisted she didn't need a babysitter, and that he needed to get some rest, taking a stubborn seat beside her and earning a tired sigh from his companion. Knowing there would be no budging him, she merely shook her head before looking out at the horizon.

A long but comfortable silence extended between them after that, and almost a full hour had passed before Nevaeh was the one to break it, announcing she was going back inside briefly to grab a bottle of water. However, before she had gotten three feet, Ajax had slipped through the hatch before her.

Scoffing, she looked down at him. "Really?"

He flashed a smirk up at her before disappearing from sight to fetch her water. It was as he was venturing farther into the store, where they had made their spot in the farthest corner, though, that voices slowed his steps.

 _"...dangerous."_

He stopped.

 _"That girl's got a death wish comin' keepin' that Hunter around. One o' these days, he might just snap. No tellin' what the virus is doin' to his brain."_

Ajax frowned. On silent feet, he crept closer to where their voices were coming from. Hiding behind a shelf, he carefully peeked around its edge to where the group of four were huddled in the corner, illuminated by the dim, yellow light of a lantern.

"He's got some amped up mutation of the rabies virus running through his bloodstream. You want something like that walking around with you?" whispered Rochelle. "There's no telling what he'll do."

"'E hasn't hurt any of us yet," piped in Ellis.

" _Yet_ ," reminded Nick forebodingly. "They haven't cured the virus yet, which means it mutates too fast for them to track it down. By morning, he could be just like any Hunter we've ever seen."

Rochelle visibly shivered at his words. "So, what do we do?" she whispered.

"I'm not sure," muttered Nick. "I mean, I don't wanna leave the girl behind, but she's set on sticking with the Hunter, and if we kill him she's gonna pull her gun on us. I'm not lookin' for another gunfight."

"Guys, come on," Ellis broke in once more. "Look, I know why y'all are a little freaked out by 'im, but so far 'e's done nothin' but keep the group safe. Hell, 'e saved my ass earlier when that Spitter—"

"Ellis, what part don't you get about 'the virus is constantly mutating'?" Nick snapped. "He's got _rabies_. The family dog is man's best friend until he's hungry enough. He could turn on us like _that_." He snapped his fingers at the last word to emphasize his point.

Ajax's stare had fixated on the floorboards as they conversed, the glint in his eyes growing darker with each word they spoke. Turning away, he walked in the opposite direction, unwilling to listen to another word.

Unbeknownst to him, one of the four had noticed his departure. Ellis' head had lifted when he thought he caught a small movement from the corner of his eye—only to stop when he caught a split glimpse of Ajax's form disappearing behind the shelves. He winced.

After a few minutes, Nevaeh had begun to grow curious when Ajax had not yet returned, and she had hopped back down into the store in search for the Hunter. Though, before she could so much as take five steps, Ellis had appeared around the corner and gently taken her by the arm.

"Can I talk t' you for a sec?"

She gave him a questioning glance. After some coaxing, she allowed him to pull her aside, and he told her about his conversation with the others, and how Ajax had overheard. As expected, anger had sparked in her forest green eyes.

"Unbel _ieva_ ble—" As she went to confront them, he stopped her again.

"All that's gonna accomplish is more shoutin', and that ain't gonna help Ajax none," he said.

Her eyes fell, knowing deep down he was right, but it didn't douse her anger any.

He continued, "I set 'em straight already. You just worry 'bout Ajax."

Once again, she met his gaze, honestly surprised, and even a bit impressed, at this rare display of maturity. Finally, she nodded, and he nodded back, slinging his gun over his shoulder.

"I'll take over watch. You go make sure 'e's alright." He turned to leave.

"Thank you, Ellis."

He looked back at her.

"You're the only one who shows him respect. It means a lot."

He smiled after her as she walked away, and she set off to find Ajax. She found him sitting by himself in their designated corner. He didn't look up at her even when she was sure she had made her presence clear, grim as he stared at the floor broodingly. Green orbs softening, she sat down beside him, nudging him gently with her elbow, and he finally looked at her. She just smiled softly.

"It doesn't matter what they think so long as you stay true to yourself."

A small scoff was his reply before he looked back forward.

"Ajax." Reaching over, she gently grabbed his chin with her fingers and turned his head towards her, forcing him to look her in the eyes.

The foreboding look in his eyes masked his bruised feelings well. Aside from that one night he'd broken down in front of her, he typically always had an impassive expression on his face, and sometimes it was hard to tell what he was thinking. However, now that they were around other people, what confidence he had built up with her was quickly chipping away by their judgmental words. He was no crybaby, but it was obvious he was bothered by the fact they saw him as a potentially rabid animal.

Reaching up, she took his face in her hands, and his eyes met hers in question. Lifting one hand, slim fingers slipped under his hood, making her intentions clear, and she pushed the dark blue fabric back off his head.

His eyes had fallen briefly, feeling strangely naked, but then returned to hers after a second, eyes darkened. She just kept his gaze without fault, smiling softly as she did so.

"Maybe if you took that hood off once in awhile they'd see how handsome you are."

He rolled his eyes, and she chuckled.

"I'm serious." She ruffled his hair, smiling as he gently batted her hand away.

A small smile had made it to his face, nonetheless, eyes shifting up to hers once again.

"You know, Ellis stuck up for you."

Smile faltering, he looked off to the side, silent.

"You could cut him a little slack. He's trying to be your friend, but you're too proud to let him."

He rolled his eyes again, to which she countered by kissing his cheek.

"Ellis volunteered to take over first watch, so I'm gonna try and get some sleep. You should, too."

With that, she started to make herself comfortable on the floor, but a hand on her shoulder made her look up just as she was resting her head down. Before she could react, Ajax had pull her towards him, guiding her into laying her head on his thigh. She flashed him a small smile and got comfortable, emitting a soft sigh as she felt his fingers in her hair.

"You're the best friend I've ever had, you know," she murmured.

Silence greeted her in response, but she knew he had heard her.

Three hours later, Ajax had carefully slipped away from Nevaeh to take watch, but not before replacing his thigh with her backpack so her head wasn't laying on the hard floor.

* * *

Ellis' head lifted up sharply, having jumped when the Hunter had come climbing up through the roof hatch. Ajax barely spared him a glance, jerking a dismissive thumb over his shoulder as he approached.

The mechanic stood, moving to leave as Ajax passed him, but something made him stop at the last second. He found himself hesitating, glancing timidly at the Hunter. He knew Ajax wasn't particularly fond of him, but he couldn't hate him completely if he had bothered to save him, right? It took him a moment before he finally gathered the courage to voice his question, but when he did he made sure to keep his voice even.

"Can I ask you somethin'?"

A withering look from the Hunter was the immediate response he received, but Ellis didn't back down. At seeing this, Ajax snorted and finally threw a defeated but sarcastic hand at him that clearly said _go on_.

"Why don't you ever stand up to 'em?"

Ajax was silent, staring at him with tired eyes. He wasn't in the mood for this. What did the idiot expect him to do? Talk? He had to act fast when Ellis suddenly tossed something at him, and he caught it one-handed. It was a small notepad and pen.

Lowering the pad, he looked back at the mechanic flatly.

Ellis merely motioned for him to proceed. "Well, go on."

Ajax snorted. Rolling his eyes, he finally stabbed a short response before flinging the pad back at him. He sat down as Ellis read it over carefully.

"Whaddya mean there's no point?"

He looked towards the sky in obvious irritation, but his grouchy mood either flew right over Ellis' head, or he didn't care, because the hick's determination wasn't deterred.

"'Course there's a point." Walking back over, Ellis sat down, much to Ajax's dismay.

Ajax snatched the notepad without warning and wrote something else down. The task had become a lot easier with practice, and within a minute he was tossing it back into Ellis' lap.

Picking it up, Ellis held it up to his face. _What am I gonna do?_ Write a _t them?_. His eyes fell guiltily. He hadn't thought of that. He thought a moment.

"Ya don't have to necessarily talk. All ya gotta do is show 'em they're wrong. Ya gotta understand they're used to Hunters bein' real nasty sons o' bitches. Just show 'em yer human by doin' human things."

Ajax's face said it all. _Such as?_

"Hunters growl, claw, and bite. Flip Nick off, or somethin'. Just act human, and eventually they'll back off. Trust me."

Ajax's eyes closed. It took everything in his power to suppress another eye roll. Dear God, he sounded like Nevaeh. Shaking his head, he once again looked back forward in silence. Maybe if he ignored him, he would eventually go away.

Nope.

"Can I ask you somethin' else?"

Ajax's eyes shut in silent frustration.

"Who was that guy? Ya know, the one you choked out. Correct me if I'm wrong, but that looked personal."

 _Does this guy ever shut the hell up?_ Despite his rising aggravation, he knew that if he just answered the question the mechanic may leave him along sooner than later, so finally, after a minute of gritting his teeth, he gave in and held his hand out for the notepad, which Ellis gladly handed over. He started writing, keeping it as short as he could, and handed the pad back after a couple minutes. As Ellis read it over, his eyes had widened a fraction, only to obtain a bitter resentment towards the end.

"Shit, man. Guess the pricks deserved what they got. That's just not right."

He snorted. This guy _loved_ stating the obvious.

"I mean, shit. Yeah, ya might _look_ like a Hunter, but ya never did anythin' to deserve that. Speakin' o' which, I never thanked you for savin' my life today."

Ajax shrugged, not so much as looking at him.

"Look. I know you ain't exactly fond o' me or the others... but hear me out, man. I ain't your enemy, all right? I got your back. We're part o' the same team, after all." Ellis smiled. "'Sides... it ain't often we run across a Hunter who don't wanna tear us a new one... Hell, we've never come across that. Yer not even a Hunter, really... More like one o' them super humans from one o' those Marvel movies."

Snorting, Ajax rolled his eyes, shaking his head. In spite of his blatant efforts to ignore the hick, however, Ellis still wore a triumphant smirk on his face. Nudging him on the arm, the mechanic stood and stretched, and Ajax looked up at him.

"Well, I best be gettin' some shuteye while I still can. Night, brother." With that, he collected his gun and started back towards the hatch, jumping down into the store to rejoin the others.

Ajax stared after him for barely a couple seconds before returning his gaze to the horizon once more. Yes, Ellis was annoying, and he didn't know when to shut up, but at least he wasn't a prick. Respect wasn't something he received easily now that he was infected, so he was thankful to the mechanic for that much.

His presence was still exasperating, though.

* * *

 **Poor Ellis. He's trying so hard to make friends with Ajax. xD Just some character building before I throw the group into some more intense shenanigans. Who wants to see Nick get chased by a Tank? *Ajax raises his hand* :D Coming soon in future chapters!**


	13. Over The Edge

**Sorry for the wait, guys! Lots of personal projects in the works. I haven't abandoned you! xoxo**

 **UPDATE: I POSTED THE WRONG CHAPTER. Sorry to anyone who was confused! Accidentally uploaded a chapter from Renaissance instead of Nevaeh *facepalm***

* * *

 **Chapter #13: Over The Edge**

* * *

"Okay." Nick laid out the map across the counter where they had all gathered. "So, it seems the fastest route to our destination is through here." He ran his finger along the highlighted road. "However, there will likely be significant car buildup, considering there's a toll halfway through." A tap of his finger where the toll was circled with pen. "We could take a car and just circle around, or we could save an entire day by crossing through here." Another tap on a circled location past the toll booths.

"What's there?" inquired Ellis.

"A water park. If we cut through there, it'll be twice as fast than crossing through the woods around the freeway."

Nevaeh nodded. "He's right. Not only that, there's a gun shop just a couple miles north from the park. I've been there before. It's on the way to the pickup as well."

Rochelle shrugged. "Works for me."

Nick rolled up the map. "We can take the cars until traffic doesn't allow us to go any further, but we'll be on foot from there on out."

"The faster we get there the better." Straightening, Coach slung his rifle over his shoulder. "All right. Let's get our asses moving."

"Let's go."

After a brief perimeter search by Ajax, they all piled into the two cars outside. As Nevaeh was shutting the back door, however, Ellis walked over to her, gun slung over his shoulder.

"Mind if I ride with you two? It's gettin' a bit cramped in the truck with the four o' us."

Glancing at him, she shrugged. "Hop in."

Ajax rolled his eyes from the front passenger seat whilst sitting back heavily. Great.

Ellis climbed into the back seats while Nevaeh buckled in, and a couple minutes later she was pulling out after Nick. It didn't take more than a few minutes of an inexplicably tense silence for her to finally glance over, only to catch the look Ajax was giving her. He was leaned against the window, propped up by his elbow, cheek rested on his fist as he glared at her flatly.

Her almost immediate reaction was to roll her eyes. "You'll live."

He rolled his own eyes in return.

"What's that?" piped in Ellis.

Nevaeh glanced back at him before returning her eyes to the road. "Nothing."

A moderately unruffled silence held steadily between them for the next five minutes or so, and Ajax had finally begun to relax. However, it was at that moment Ellis' voice shattered the peace.

"Have I told you about my buddy Keith?"

Ajax didn't even bother holding back a dramatic eye roll as the mechanic started rambling, head falling back against the headrest in open annoyance, but it didn't deter Ellis any. Nevaeh smirked at the Hunter's obvious irritation, reaching over to give his ribs a playful prod with her fingertips. He merely swatted her away whilst sending her a condemning glance from the corner of his eye, to which she replied with a charming smile.

Reaching the freeway didn't happen soon enough for Ajax's rapidly thinning patience after having to listen to Ellis' stories for nearly an hour—no thanks to Nevaeh for purposely encouraging the guy _just_ to poke at his last nerve. The withering look he had cast in her direction as they exited the car made his opinion of her at that moment clear; though, he had forgiven her almost immediately when she had giggled before pressing a harmless kiss to his cheek. He immediately took point, leaping off multiple cars to the roof of a large semi. Standing to his full height, sharpened eyes scanned their surroundings.

"Well," Nick sighed, "let's get moving."

Nevaeh started after Ajax when he began walking. "Everyone keep an eye out for supplies as we go. We might need it."

Silence was their company as they wove through the thick maze of cars, the only sounds around them being the soft thudding of their boots and the wind flowing gently through the trees. Ajax walked slowly along the tops of vehicles, sticking to the roofs of large trucks as much as possible to maintain a good view of their surroundings. Every now and then, as usual, he would glance back at Nevaeh to ensure she was still within his sights, only proceeding when he confirmed she was.

A certain blue-eyed mechanic had been keeping an eye on the Hunter for the past few minutes or so, waiting for him to relax a bit before making a move towards Nevaeh. Unbeknownst to him, Ajax had been all too aware of his subtle efforts to approach her, but had merely rolled his eyes at the younger man's failed attempt at stealth. Nevaeh, however, had glanced over her shoulder when she both heard and felt Ellis approaching.

He flashed her a friendly smile. "Sure feels safer with 'im around, if ya ask me," he said, speaking of Ajax. "I feel like I can actually relax a little."

"He's kept me safe for this long."

Ajax glanced back at them from the corner of his eye as he walked.

Rochelle joined in on the conversation soon after, but not before sending a cautious glance in Ajax's direction to ensure the watchful Hunter wasn't listening too closely. "I'm really not trying to sound ignorant," she began mutedly, "but have you ever put into consideration that the virus could mutate?"

"You think he's unpredictable because of the infection," stated Nevaeh. It wasn't a question.

"Can you blame us? He has no control over what it does to him. What if he snaps one day because of biological reasons?"

"As a doctor, take my word that chances of that happening are extremely slim."

"How do you know?"

"Look." She stopped to face the older woman. "The landing pad is just a few days hike from here. After that, you'll never see him or me again. So don't worry about it."

Ellis had frowned a little at her words, but neither women took notice.

"You should come with us," Rochelle pressed. "You're risking a great deal staying out here."

"I'm risking a great deal trusting a bunch of twitchy grunts with guns shooting me down if they think I've been in contact with the undead, which I have. All of us have." Her eyes remained solid. "Ajax is family. I'm sorry if you can't accept that, but I cannot and _will_ not leave him behind. I wish you four the best of luck. My place is here." She went to continue on her way, but Ellis' voice was stopping her the next second.

"What if you die?"

Once more, she looked back over her shoulder, only to see he appeared genuinely troubled.

"Not tryin' to say ya can't take care o' yerself... but it's a damn miracle you made it this far. Numbers are what's kept us alive."

"You're probably right," she admitted, "but again... I won't leave Ajax. He can't come with us; therefore, I can't go. I honestly wouldn't want to unless he was with me."

Ellis went to speak in dispute, but a distinct call from Ajax caused all three of them to look where the Hunter was perched on top of a RV a good fifty feet away, staring back at them expectantly.

He wasn't the only one to notice their lagging, for Nick's voice piped in with annoyance not a second after. "Come on, guys, move it! We don't have all week!"

Nevaeh started walking towards where Ajax was waiting for her to catch up, and as she was doing so the Hunter's eyes veered from her to lift towards Ellis and Rochelle, mildly irritated, before continuing on his way once Nevaeh was caught up.

Rochelle gave a small shiver. "Every time he looks at us, I feel like he's sizing us up."

Ellis shrugged. "Cuz 'e is. 'E knows y'all don't like 'im."

"And you do?"

Again, the mechanic shrugged. "'E's done no wrong by me."

"And that, Ellis, is why you're not called upon to make decisions." Nick, who had made his way over in an irritated huff, smacked the younger man upside the head, nearly knocking his hat clear off. "Now, would you get your ass moving? I'd _like_ to find this place before the helicopter _leaves_."

Ellis frowned after him as he rubbed the back of his head with a small pout tugging at the edges of his features. Fitting his hat back onto his head, he trudged after the conman in a small huff. Their resumed venture lasted mere seconds, however, for right at that second Ajax suddenly stopped short atop the truck he was walking on. Nevaeh stopped in unison, having heard it as well, and one by one the others drew to a halt at seeing the alarmed expressions on their faces.

"What is it?" questioned Nick in a low voice.

However, before either of them had a chance to respond, there was a thunderous bellow, and a car was being tossed in their direction. Ajax had to drop instantly to avoid being killed, and Nevaeh just barely ducked and rolled under the truck as the car made violent, rolling contact with the ground, taking out a couple other cars in its path and sending bolts and shards of glass flying.

Ellis leapt over the hood of the car he was standing next to in order to avoid a tire that flew in his direction. "TANK!"

"No shit, Ellis!" Nick raised his gun.

They all had to scatter and duck for cover once more when another car soared overhead.

"Get off the road!" Nevaeh shouted. "We can lose it in the woods!"

As a single unit, they all took off at once, firing back at the Tank as they ran. Ellis had looked back to ensure Nevaeh was following before starting to run, Ajax close in tow. The Tank's bellows followed after them, and before long the ground began to shake with its immense weight as it started its pursuit.

Ellis had noticed Ajax was lagging behind the group as they entered the forest, but the last thing he expected the Hunter to do was suddenly round about and turn on the Tank at the last second. It gave a cavernous bellow as the smaller infected ducked under its swinging arms, dodging a potentially fatal blow before leaping up and landing on the Tank's back.

"Ajax, what in the hell are you doin'?!"

"Ellis!" Grabbing him by the back of the collar, Coach yanked him along. "Keep movin'!"

Nevaeh had stopped at the edge of the woods to aim her gun at the Tank, firing with every opening Ajax provided her with. Yet despite how hard Ellis fought to hang back and assist them, he was pulled onward by either Coach or Nick, but they weren't able to get far before Nevaeh's voice was ringing through the trees.

"HEADS UP!"

Their heads all turned at once to be greeted with the sight of the Tank bursting through the forest in a blind rage, destroying everything in its path and charging through trees like they were nothing.

"SCATTER!"

They broke off into different directions at once, barely avoiding getting ran over by the bull-like infected. Rather than continuing forward, however, the infuriated Tank took a sudden turn after one of the group, and at seeing he'd gained the beast's undivided attention Nick released a slew of swears.

"A LITTLE HELP!" he shouted.

"We're comin', Nick!" called Coach.

Nevaeh passed Ellis at a full sprint, Ajax hot in pursuit, but despite how hard they pushed themselves the Tank seemed ten steps ahead, losing them rapidly amid the thick trees.

"It's drivin' Nick straight for the cliff!" shouted Rochelle.

Nevaeh looked to Ajax beside her to see he was already looking back at her. All it took was a single nod from her, and his head turned back forward, teeth bearing, before charging past her with an impressive burst of speed. He passed Coach and Rochelle, leaping clear over the fallen trees with liquid ease in his pursuit.

"Damn, 'e can fly!" exclaimed Ellis.

Ajax vaulted over yet another fallen pine as he gained on them, staying cautious of any stray bullets fired from Nick's gun, until there were no more shots and only a stream of curses from the conman as he ran out of ammo. Then at last, he finally caught up to them, only because they had reached the cliff, and there was nowhere else for Nick to go, cornered by the mass of muscle and flesh charging at him like a blinded bull. He had seconds at most.

With barely a thought, Ajax lunged.

Nick's head had snapped up at the piercing screech, already widened eyes growing even further in size at the sight of Ajax vaulting into the air over the Tank. The beast had turned at the sound, and its bellows filled the air when the Hunter latched on, thrashing and throwing its arms wildly in attempt to shake the smaller infected off. In its blind struggle, the beast had staggered backwards towards the cliff where Nick was still trapped, losing its footing as it threw its top-heavy weight to the side in its efforts to shake Ajax.

Both Ajax and Nick's eyes had flown wide in unison, but before either could act on it the Tank was toppling backwards over the cliff's edge. Nick had thrown himself to the side in attempt to evade impact, but as it fell the Tank's arm had flown outwards, knocking the conman back with a single blow. It was at this exact second the others finally caught up, and Rochelle emitted a horrified shriek at seeing their counterpart being dragged over the edge.

"NICK!"

Ajax had leapt off the Tank just in the nick of time, rolling as he landed, and in the same movement he had regained his footing and took an abrupt U-ey back towards the cliff. Skidding to a halt, he looked down over the ledge, only for his eyes to widen at the sight of Nick hanging onto a branch roughly ten feet down. By the looks of it, however, he was hardly out of danger, the already splintering branch breaking with the added weight. Without hesitating, Ajax climbed over the ledge.

Nick's head turned up at him as Ajax reaches down for him, and they met eyes briefly. At seeing his obvious reluctance, Ajax gave him a meaningful look that practically screamed _really_. Seeming to realize he had no other option, Nick finally tried reaching up for him, but was immediately interrupted when the branch broke even more, causing him to swiftly grab onto the splintering wood once more as his body gave a sharp downwards jerk.

"Nick!"

"Hold on, Nick!" shouted Coach.

Ajax gritted his teeth as he carefully made his way a little lower. There wasn't much to grab onto, loose dirt and pebbles breaking free and plunging into the drop below as he edged his way towards the dangling conman, who was slipping more and more by the second.

"Hurry!" cried Rochelle.

It was right as the branch was giving way that he managed to grab him just as he was falling, and Nick released a startled shout.

"Shit!"

"Good catch, Ajax!" Ellis cheered.

Ajax heaved Nick up to him, who begrudgingly grabbed onto him, and Ajax looked back up to see the others staring down at them from the ledge. Eyes lowering, he started to climb.

Nevaeh reached down the second he was close enough, pulling him up with Ellis' aid as Rochelle and Coach hauled up Nick. Ajax was standing for less than ten seconds when Rochelle suddenly turned on him, eyes alight with a combination of anger and fear.

"You almost got him killed!" she shouted.

Ajax blinked, speechless.

"What the hell were you thinking? It's a miracle he didn't fall to his death! Why would you attack the Tank so close to the ledge?"

All Ajax could do was stare at her in disbelief. Then, the look on his face took a scathing, grim turn, and he walked off, not bothering to retaliate against her. It wasn't worth it. Nevaeh, however, wasn't having any of it, cutting in front of the older woman sharply and looking her directly in the eye.

"What's your problem?" she snapped angrily. "He just saved his life!"

"How can you want him around? He's _infected_ —!"

She was abruptly cut off when Nevaeh's hand made sharp, hard contact with her cheek. Everyone had froze at the harsh slap, and Rochelle's hand flew to the side of her face in shock. Nevaeh's eyes were cold as ice, unmoved by their stares.

"He's my friend, and he's more human than _any_ of you. You want him gone? Fine. The second we find a way out of this creek, consider us gone. Good luck finding that landing pad in one peace without him to protect you." With that final, biting remark, she turned on her heel and started after Ajax, who hadn't bothered to wait up for anyone.

Eyes darkened, Ellis turned to face his teammates, cheerful disposition shadowed over with contempt. "Now see what you did? Damn, Ro, 'e saved Nick's life! Now she's gonna take off."

Rochelle said nothing, eyes fixed on the running water beneath their feet. Shaking his head, Ellis threw his hands up before bending down to pick up his shotgun, slinging it over his shoulder and following after Nevaeh and Ajax.

In the very back of the group, Nick's eyes lowered to the ground.


	14. Breathe

**Chapter #14: Breathe**

* * *

"Well, it looks like we'll be following the creek for awhile until we can find a way back up there," muttered Nick after roughly ten minutes of trekking through the shallow water.

The water was nearly freezing, soaking through his shoes and socks within seconds and leaving his feet and legs chilled to the bone. All of them were stepping along the rocks as much as possible, but all it took was a single step into the ankle-deep water to get a literal case of cold feet. So far, a way out had not presented itself, the mud and loose rocks making it near impossible to climb the steep slopes. He, of all people, had considered the fact Ajax could very likely take them one by one back up to higher land with a single leap; though, he doubted the Hunter would be in a very charitable mood.

"Least it ain't hot in the water."

"Shut up, Ellis."

* * *

"Well, this went to Hell in a handbasket real fast!" Nick pumped his shotgun and emptied yet another shell into the swarm of infected charging at him from what felt like every angle. "Reloading!"

Nevaeh ran side-by-side with Rochelle through the shallows, each of them taking turns shooting back at the infected chasing them as the other was reloading. Not too far away, Ajax leapt down onto a Charger, steering it off course just in time to spare the two women from being ran through.

"Thanks, Ajax!" called Nevaeh. It wasn't seconds later, though, that an unfamiliar screech had her whipping around. "Ajax, look out!"

The warning was given too late, however, and because Ajax had still been busy with the Charger he hadn't had time to evade the attack. He went rolling as the Hunter sprang upon him like a cougar, and they went down in a tangle of claws and snarls.

Nevaeh immediately tried running to his aid, but she and Rochelle were utterly surrounded. "Ajax, hold on!" She sliced through another as she watched them brawl, heart racing as Ajax clearly struggled to maintain the upper hand.

Nick had turned at her shouts, and after a brief moment his eyes landed on the two Hunters. "Shit..." He lifted his gun, aiming at the other Hunter's head, but right as he found a clear shot he was knocked off course when a zombie rammed into him from the side. "Fuck!" Turning, he jammed the butt of his gun back into the undead's teeth.

That was when the Hunter on top of him got in a powerful blow to the side of his head, knocking him into a temporary daze. In seconds, the other Hunter had grabbed his head and shoved it under the water, pinning him down as he thrashed to free himself, and despite her efforts Nevaeh could not shake the horde.

" _AJAX!_ "

"God _damn_ it!" With a particularly aggressive shove, Nick was able to knock back the last of the infected surrounding him, and in one sharp movement he turned to face the two Hunters.

Lip turning up in a sneer, he lifted his shotgun and took careful aim, following the offending Hunter's movements carefully. One false move, and Ajax would be dead. Lips pressing together, he drew in a slow, deep breath through his nose, gun swaying with the Hunter's movements, and his finger pulled back on the trigger.

The shotgun's roar echoed through the air, and a sharp spurt of dark red spewed from the side of the Hunter's head, its body giving a violent jerk to the side as it fell with a splash to the water beside Ajax. Lowering his gun, he watched both Hunter's a moment, waiting for any type of movement, but there was none. Before he could get to Ajax, though, he was being assaulted once more by a small group of infected. Cursing, he turned on them with gritted teeth, shoving one back and blowing another's brains out with a slew of swears.

Nevaeh had spun in a full 360 at the sound of the gunshot, and he eyes widened at the sight of the dead Hunter laying beside an equally lifeless Ajax. In a burst of adrenaline fueled by the sheer need to get to Ajax, she took out the remaining five zombies surrounding her with her swords, and as they fell dead she tore off towards her fallen counterpart.

"Ajax!" She fell to her knees beside him, lifting his upper body out of water and cradling him in her arms. Reaching down, she pressed her fingers to his neck, only for panic to flood her when she felt no pulse. "Ajax! Hey!" She shook him, but earned no reaction. In a panic, she stood up and hooked her arms under his, and she started dragging him towards a small strip of land to their left.

She laid him flat on his back, where she proceeded to perform CPR without hesitation, completely disregarding the remaining infected. A few came at them, but were shot down before they could reach her, causing her head to snap up as Ellis ran in, where he rigidly placed himself in front of them. As he continued to shoot, she continued her frantic attempts to revive Ajax.

"Ajax, breathe! Goddamn it, _breathe!_ "

Suddenly, his body lurched back to life with a ragged gasp, making her jumps as he rolled over and vomited up what seemed like two lung-fulls of water. She nearly passed out.

"Ajax!"

Ellis took a fleeting second to glance behind him, where Ajax was coughing up a storm. Beside him, Nevaeh supported him as she rubbed and patted his back in attempt to help him clear his lungs.

"Good boy! That's it!" Tears had begun to well in her eyes as he collapsed back to ground, out of breath and exhausted.

He wasn't given long to recover, though, for it was mere seconds later that the ground started to shake, starting off as a slight tremble before growing more prominent.

"TANK!"

Ellis' head snaps up at Coach's shout.

"Oh, _come on!_ " complained Nick.

The brute was upon them within the same moment, barreling around the boulders as they all turned their fire on it in unison. All of them were running dangerously low on ammo, but it was Ellis who was the first to run out, and to his greater misfortune the Tank chose that moment to turn its rage onto him. His eyes had flown wide at first, but then they were darkening, and rather than running he merely tossed the now empty gun to the ground.

"Ellis, what the hell are you doing?!" Nick yelled. "Get out of there!"

Reaching behind him, Ellis pulled out the machete hanging on his back, holding his ground as the hulking mass of flesh charged ever closer at an alarming speed. From her spot on the ground beside a still incapacitated Ajax, Nevaeh stared up at him in horror.

"Ellis! Run!"

He didn't move. Fear shined bright in his baby blues, but he kept a firm front, machete held in front of him at the ready. His entire body clenched up when the Tank reared its huge arms up into the air, towering above him like a zombified Incredible Hulk—when all of a sudden a black blur flew in overhead, and a piercing screech echoed through the air.

The next thing any of them knew, the Tank was releasing a thunderous bellow as a Hunter landed on its head in a storm of teeth and claws. Ellis had stumbled back when one of the huge arms missed him by mere inches in a blind swing, falling to the ground beside Nevaeh. Hastily, she pulled him back, and they watched in shock as the Hunter mauled the Tank's head, but this wasn't Ajax, who lay on the ground beside Nevaeh in equal shock.

This Hunter was clad in a black hoodie, a jagged set of healed claw marks raking down the left side of his face. The Tank managed to grab him by the leg, throwing him aside like a ragdoll. He landed harshly in the water with a splash, but he was back up in the same second, lunging once again onto the beast's back just as it was making a turn for Nick.

All the others could do was stare in amazement as the black-clad Hunter all but made the Tank tear itself apart, expertly dodging its hands as it tried grabbing him again. At one point, Nick had started to take aim with what little ammo he had left, carefully shooting around the Hunter whenever he was given an opening. Then finally, after minutes of effort and close calls, the Tank emitted a deep, fading bellow, falling to its knees, and then landing face-down in the water with a huge splash.

The strange Hunter leapt off as the beast fell, landing on a nearby boulder. They all stared openly as he turned and proceeded to scale the cliff to the rocks above, where he came to a stop on a car on the higher ground above them. Coach had lifted his gun, but a hand lowered down on it before he had a chance to fire, and he looked beside him at Nevaeh.

Her eyes didn't leave the Hunter. He stared right back at her, unflinching, for almost a full minute, and then he was turning around and bounding away, disappearing from sight.

"What the hell was that?" muttered Nick.

"Did that Hunter just protect you?" asked Rochelle, speaking to Ellis.

Nevaeh was still staring in the direction the Hunter had taken off in, eyes narrowed in silent wonder. One look at Ajax told her he was thinking the same thing she was.

"Hey!"

They all looked to where Nick had wandered a bit farther up the creek, waving at them as he pointed to something. "Looks like a way up over here! I see a sign for a safehouse, too!"

None of them had to be told twice. Low and behold, it turned out a set of wooden stairs had been built into the side of the cliff, and they were able to climb them back to the road. Cars lay scattered and abandoned on this section of the road as well. To their right was the direction they had come in, and to their left was a chain link fence that blocked off the rest of the road.

"Looks like we're climbing." Slinging his now empty shotgun over his back, Nick grabbed onto the chain link and began to scale the ten-foot fence. Rochelle, Ellis, and Coach followed his lead, causing the chain link to rattle noisily.

Nevaeh looked beside her at Ajax. "You good?"

He nodded, and he stepped up to the fence. He had a slight limp, likely from his collision with the rocks, but he pressed onward. Truth to be told, she didn't like the idea of him pushing himself, but it was either push or be left behind, so she said nothing and climbed up beside him.

Nick was the first to hit the other side, where he took point until the rest of them made it over. "The safe house shouldn't be far. I bet it's right up ahead in that rest stop."

Nevaeh looked towards the large parking lot in the distance set off the side of the road, where a building stood that resembled a small coffee shop of sorts. Before she could ponder on it for long, her attention was turned back to Ajax when she heard him emit a small sound just in time to see him lean against one of the cars with his hand pressed to his side. Slowly, her eyebrows drew together in a small, concerned frown.

"Hey."

He looked at her.

"You okay?"

A small nod was his reply, but she persisted.

"Let me see."

Ellis glanced over his shoulder as she pushed up the bottom of Ajax's hoodie to expose a large purple bruise blackening his ribs, and he let out a sympathetic hiss. "Dang, are his ribs broke?"

"I don't think so. Just bruised."

Ajax grimaced.

Gently, she pulled the fabric back down and gave his chin a tender nick. "Come on. Let's get you inside so I can take a better look at you."

They made a brusque journey across the vacant parking lot, keeping alert as they approached the front doors of the building. Sure enough, it had been fashioned into a safehouse. Nick had taken the liberty to take point while the others shuffled inside, only allowing his gun to lower when he backed in behind them.

"This place is pretty big. Let's take a look around for supplies." Coach turned into a small convenient store. Nick and Rochelle followed his example, dispersing into different areas of the indoor plaza.

"Check under the counters and back rooms of the stores and food court," said Nick. "Policy usually calls for businesses to have a first-aid on hand, especially in restaurants."

Meanwhile, Nevaeh had sat Ajax down on a bench in front of the fountain, and she began to check him for injury.

"On a scale of one to ten, how much do your ribs hurt?"

Making a face similar to a grimace, he wobbled his hand in a so-so manner before holding up five fingers.

"You're probably still recovering from the last time you were thrown. You need to be careful, okay? I don't think your ribs can take another hit like that."

A small, distracted nod was all she got in reply, when she was suddenly pulling him into her arms and placing her lips beside his ear as she hugged him.

"Stop dying trying to save me." She kissed his head.

Once they had thoroughly searched the building and ensured all possible exits and entrances were secure, they had raided what was left of the shops' non perishables and settled down for a brief rest. Ajax had fallen asleep against Nevaeh some time ago, head rested on her thigh as she gently massaged his head through his hood.

Her head lifted when she saw Ellis approaching, and he came to sit down beside her. "Found these in a car a little while back." He handed it over.

Taking the bottle, she looked down at the label. They were painkillers.

"Figured Ajax could use 'em right now."

She met his eyes. Setting the bottle aside, she reached forward and caressed his chin with feather-light fingers, gently turning his face towards hers. "Don't ever pull a stunt like that again." Leaning in, she placed an affectionate kiss on his cheek.

He met her eyes when she pulled away, growing a bashful smile. "What about you? You okay?"

Looking down at Ajax, she rubbed his back gently. "Yeah." She returned her eyes to him once more, a soft smile dancing across her lips. "Thank you, Ellis. You don't know how much he means to me."

"'E's yer family. Family ain't easy to hold onto these days."

"But I still have him, thanks to you."

"Nick's the one who shot that other Hunter off 'im."

Her smile faltered slightly, but he just continued to eye her intentionally.

"What Ro said wasn't cool, and I ain't makin' up excuses for the way they've been treatin' Ajax... but take my word for it. If Nick's willin' to waste a bullet for 'im... then the others are gonna start thinkin'."

"We don't belong in your group, Ellis," she sighed.

"Maybe not yet, but just give it a lil' more time. Like I said, if Nick's warmin' up to 'im, then they will. We're stronger in numbers, and you know it."

She looked at him resignedly.

"Just think on it. Okay?"

A long, tired sigh left her. "Fine."

He smiled. "Cool." Leaning back, he tugged his hat over his eyes.


End file.
